Dealing with Reality
by kittenamos
Summary: Blaine Anderson was raised as a Shadowhunter in Lima, Ohio. When he moves in with his cousins in New York City he meets a pale mundane named Kurt. Can the two boys from completely different worlds find a way to be together? HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

The front door opened with a soft creek, allowing Alec and Magnus to enter into the warlock's cozy apartment.

Getting back from their first date, Alec would have hoped he'd be filled with excitement at the prospect of starting his new relationship. The butterflies that had sprang up in his stomach when Magnus had first suggested they finally go on their long awaited first date were now gone, leaving him with a slight nauseous feeling spinning around in his gut. It could have been the alcohol; he didn't usually drink much, but the after effects of last couple hours left him feeling drained.

"For a guy so used to Portals, I have to say, nothing beats a late-night stroll through the city," Magnus admitted as he walked into his living room ahead of Alec. If the slight monotone in his voice was any sign, Alec wasn't the only one that the night had taken its toll on.

"Yeah," Alec sighed in agreement, matching the warlock's tone. "Gives you time to think."

The night hadn't been all bad. A friendly game of pool had relaxed them into the night, but Alec's admission to never having been in a serious romantic relationship had put an ominous cloud over their night.

_"You're weirded out." _

_Magnus took a huge drink from his cocktail, before setting the now almost empty glass back on the counter. "Mmm, who says I'm weirded out?" _

_Alec eyed the glass in front of the warlock with a slightly raised eyebrow but decided to let it go. "You want to know why I haven't been in a serious relationship before? It's because of this." He motioned between the two of them. "I have known I was interested in boys for a while and . . . growing up in the Institute, it has never really been accepted. I didn't want to feel like there was something wrong with me because I always knew I couldn't have what I wanted. Well, . . . until you came along." _

_There was a slight pause before Magnus spoke up again. "I'm immortal, Alec. I'm a bisexual warlock who has been around for . . . four hundred years. You think that the Institute has been the only place where we haven't been accepted?" Magnus turned his head just enough to make out the young man sitting next to him. "Trust me, there is nothing wrong with you. Far from it." He turned his eyes back to his drink. "But you're so . . . innocent." _

_"In some ways, yeah," Alec shrugged, memories of training as a child with knifes and swords flashing behind his eyes. "But I really don't want you to treat me any different." _

_"But you are different. And it's a good thing." _

_"What about you?" Alec asked, picking up his drink. "I mean, you must have had your fair share of exes from over the years." _

_"What do you mean?" the warlock asked, avoiding his eyes. _

_"You know what I mean." _

_"Alexander, look, I've lived for centuries. I've been with men, women, Seelies, warlocks, vampires . . . a jinn or two." _

_"How many?" Alec questioned, interrupting the man's rambling. "It's not a trick question. You can round down if you want." _

_"Okay, I'll tell you." Magnus paused for another moment, before reluctantly spitting out his number. "Seventeen." _

_A wave of relief swept through Alec. "Seventeen. That's not too bad. That's . . ." Then he caught the look in Magnus' eyes. "Seventeen . . . hundred?" Magnus turned his head, suddenly looking very uncomfortable. "Seventeen thousand?" _

_"It was all in the past," Magnus jumped in, letting out a small uncomfortable chuckle. "Ancient history. But right now, I'm here. With you." _

_"Yeah, me and . . . seventeen thousand other memories." _

"You must have thought a lot," Magnus spoke up with his back to Alec, pulling the Shadowhunter out of his thoughts. "You barely said a word the whole way home." Slipping off his jacket, he headed over to the serving cart that was currently stationed by the side of the couch to pour himself yet another drink.

Alec's mind was spinning from everything he had learned about the warlock. He had known from the beginning that the man was immortal, but he hadn't fully grasped what that meant until now.

"Magnus." Alec hesitated before continuing. "Do you think . . . maybe we're too . . ."

"Different?" he finished for him.

"Yeah," Alec let out in a soft sigh.

Finally turning around to face him, Magnus gave Alec a sad look and shrugged. "I've been with different supernatural beings before, but . . ."

"Most were immortal. We're from different centuries," Alec agreed. They stared back at each other, allowing that thought to sink in.

It had seemed like months had passed since they had shared their first kiss in front of the crowd of Shadowhunters at the church. Getting to their first date had seemed like such a huge milestone, and now, the idea that this relationship could be over just like that was heartbreaking to Alec. He considered just turning around and walking out of the apartment, but he didn't want to let Magnus go without a fight.

"Look, I don't care how many people you've been with," Alec stated determinedly, taking a step closer.

Magnus' face lit up at the words. "I don't care how many people you _haven't_ been with."

Before he could lose his nerve, Alec closed the distance between them and leaned down to press his lips against the warlock's.

A knock at the door forced them apart. Magnus ran a hand down Alec's arm in a silent apology before turning to answer the door.

What greeted him on the other side was a teenage kid with dark, gelled down hair. The boy's bright red pants and black polo shirt were quite a contrast with his white belt. He was even sporting a red, black, and white striped bowtie around his neck.

Magnus determined immediately that the boy was a Shadowhunter, if the roughly shaped dragon-rune-tattoo that was imprinted on the young boy's upper collarbone; peeking out of his shirt, was anything to go by. He also had the traditional angelic image printed on his forearm, along with a few others visible on the exposed skin.

"Can I help you?" Magnus asked, eyeing the boy curiously.

"Hey," the boy sent him a bright smile. "I'm looking for Alec. I was told he might be here?"

"Blaine?" Alec's voice spoke up from the living room as he stepped into view from around the corner.

"Alec!" the boy cried out, and Magnus quickly stepped out of the way as the teen charged past him, falling into Alec's arms.

"Hey, kid," Alec chuckled at the boy's excitement while wrapping one arm around his shoulders. "It's good to see you too. What are you doing in New York?"

The teen pulled back a little to look up at Alec. "My family flew in to visit for a few days."

"Cooper's here too?" The taller one asked, his eyes widening happily.

The teen nodded his head. "He's back at the Institute, getting in some combat practice with Jace."

"Who is this?" Magnus asked, closing the door again and turning to study the new arrival with an amused look in his eyes.

The gel haired boy spun around to face the warlock while Alec moved to rest his hand on the kid's shoulder. "Sorry. This is my cousin, Blaine Anderson," Alec introduced before looking down at the teen and gesturing in his direction. "Blaine, this is Magnus."

"_You're_ Magnus, huh?" Blaine asked, stressing out the first word. Folding his arms across his chest, he raised an eyebrow at the warlock, sending him a small smirk.

"You've heard of me?" Magnus asked, taken aback. As High Warlock of Brooklyn, he was used to complete strangers in his world knowing his name, but this kid was apparently from out of town.

"Aunt Maryse visited my family in Ohio a couple weeks ago. I overheard her talking to my mom about what happened at your wedding," Blaine added as he turned to address Alec, sending him a knowing look. "She didn't sound too pleased with your decision to back out of the arrangement."

Alec shared a look with Magnus.

"Uh huh," Alec hummed before turning back to his cousin, "and how do _you_ feel about it?"

"About you being gay or dating a warlock?"

"Both."

Blaine bit his lower lip gently as it thought it over. "My only concern about the warlock is the fact that he _is_ immortal." He shrugged. "I'm a little worried that my cause some problems for you down the line. As for the boyfriend part?" The teen cast his eyes to the floor as he shuffled his feet uncomfortably. "Well, . . . considering the fact that I'm gay too, I really don't think I should be one to judge on that."

"Really?" Alec asked, sounding surprised.

Magnus gave the boy's outfit another look over. Raising an eyebrow in mock surprise, he smirked to himself but kept his mouth shut.

"Don't say anything to my parents, please," Blaine stammered. "Cooper is the only one that knows right now and–"

"It's not a big deal though," Alec quickly jumped in. "I was terrified about coming out . . . and you know how my mom has been taking the news, but Magnus and I just got back from a first date tonight and . . . I think things are going to be okay."

"There is nothing to be ashamed of," Magnus added, stepping closer to the pair and sent Alec a warning look as he continued. "But in the meantime, sure, your secret is safe with us. And if you ever feel like you need someone to talk to or whatever . . ."

"Thanks," Blaine said, grinning up at the warlock. "I'll keep that in mind."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

A low roar sounded throughout the apartment as a pale orange portal whooshed into appearance, and Magnus and Alec stepped through each carrying several shopping bags in their arms.

"I mean, how would they feel?" Alec asked, setting his bags down on the couch in Magnus' living room.

Magnus placed his own stuff down on the floor by the side table, before stating with a hint of sarcasm in his voice, "Well, I'm glad you didn't ask in front of the sushi chef."

"Seriously," Alec pressed, ignoring the tone in his boyfriend's voice, "why do they call it fatty tuna? I mean, that is a little degrading."

The warlock pulled out the ceramic elephant he had just bought from one of the bags. "Hmm, well . . . I don't think obese tuna sounds any better," he added, amused and set the ornament gently down on the flat surface.

"You know, as much as I love Tokyo, a bacon burger from the East Village isn't that bad," Alec turned around to face Magnus as he finished his rant. In doing so, the Shadowhunter caught sight of the grinning teenager stationed in a chair in the corner of the room. The boy's cheeks were puffed up with his lips pressed in a flat line as if he was trying not to laugh as he peeked over the book that was in his lap. "Blaine," Alec sighed in false exasperation. "What are you doing here?"

With his eyes still sparkling in amusement, Blaine set the book he had been reading aside, before moving to get up from the chair and took a few steps closer to the couple. "You two are adorable," he teased gently, shaking his head before moving on. He crossed his arms over his chest. "My parents are driving me nuts. They want to set me up with someone."

Alec froze. "What? Like . . . an arranged marriage?" he asked slowly, a hint of skepticism in his voice.

"Like with you and Lydia Branwell," Blaine noted, turning his head to the side.

"I thought _you_ proposed to Lydia," Magnus said, spinning around to face Alec.

"I was being forced to marry _someone_. All my parents asked was that it was someone with a good and powerful name among the Shadowhunters," Alec explained, not taking his eyes off of his cousin and shrugged his shoulders before going on. "Lydia seemed like a good choice at the time, and it got my parents off my back for awhile."

Blaine nodded slowly, looking dejected. "Sorry for intruding on your home," he said, turning his gaze onto Magnus and gave a small shrug himself. "I just needed to get out of the Institute for a few hours."

"Not a problem. Alec's family is always welcome here." Magnus paused, looking off to the side as he reconsidered the statement. "Well, except for maybe . . . Maryse." He gave involuntary shiver at the thought of the woman before turning back to his shopping bags. 

The comment brought a smile to Blaine's face. "Good, . . . because Cooper is here too," Blaine added, causing Magnus to look over again. "Coop!" Blaine called over his shoulder.

"Yeah," a voice echoed back from what sounded like the kitchen.

"Magnus and Alec are back from their trip."

Moments later, a man with dark hair and wearing a black leather jacket, stepped around the corner behind Blaine and entered into the living room.

The man sent them a bright smile as he approached. "Hey, Alec," he greeted. "How was Tokyo?"

"It was nice."

"Looks like you brought back plenty of souvenirs," Cooper noted, eyeing the collection of shopping bags that were scattered around the room. "You must be Magnus?" he asked extending his hand out towards the warlock.

"Yes." Magnus reached for the hand. "Cooper? Blaine's brother?"

Cooper nodded once, before releasing his grip. "We put a pizza in for dinner. You guys hungry?"

"We ate in Tokyo," Magnus answered, shrugging him off.

"The fatty tuna?" Blaine asked, grinning in Alec's direction.

Ignoring the confused look on Cooper's face, Alec rolled his eyes at his little cousin but otherwise didn't bother to respond.

Cooper turned to look at his brother. "Blaine, why don't you go and check on the food?" And with a slight nod, the teen turned and headed towards the kitchen. When his little brother had made it out of the room, Cooper faced Alec again, this time with a mournful expression.

"Everything okay?" Alec asked, instantly concerned.

"Blaine said he talked to you about his sexuality a couple days ago," Cooper asked slowly, folding his arms in front of him.

Alec nodded once, unsure of why his cousin looked so upset. "He said you were okay with it."

"Oh, _I_ _am_," Cooper added quickly. "It's our parents." He sighed. "When your mother came to visit us a couple months ago, she mentioned your warlock boyfriend to us," he said, gesturing towards Magnus. "It was pretty clear that she didn't really have a problem with the _boyfriend_ part of the relationship; she seemed more concerned about the fact you decided to date warlock more than anything else, . . . but our parent's had different reaction to the news."

"They had an issue with me dating a boy?" Alec asked, already knowing the answer.

Cooper nodded. "The idea of having someone gay in the family . . . Our parents didn't take it well at all. If they freaked out over that, how are they going to take it when they find out that one of their own _kids_ is gay? And now, they are already talking about setting Blaine up to marry someone." He walked past the two men and took a seat on the other side of the couch that wasn't covered with Alec's shopping bags. "Either he goes along with the arranged marriage and spends his life with some woman he doesn't love, or he tells them the truth and . . ." He sighed as he left the sentence unfinished.

There was a short pause before Magnus spoke up softly. "You want my advice?"

In answer, Cooper looked up from his lap and made eye contact with the warlock.

Magnus let out a small sigh before continuing. "He needs to tell them."

A look of sheer panic flashed across Cooper's face and he quickly shook his head. "Telling them is not an option. You didn't see their reaction to hearing about Alec. They even used the word _'fag'_ several times to describe him." He sensed Alec flinch out of the corner of his eye at the word, but he kept his pleading stare locked on to Magnus'. "Blaine shouldn't have to go through that same treatment from our parents because of who _he_ is."

"Pizza's ready!" they heard Blaine's voice call from the kitchen, but nobody moved.

"I understand that you are worried about him. I actually witnessed Maryse and Robert's reaction to finding out about us," Magnus noted, glancing at Alec before turning back to the distraught Shadowhunter that was sitting on his couch. "That one wasn't very pretty either, but don't you think it was better that Alec told them the truth then to have spent his life married to someone that he couldn't love?" He paused, choosing his next words carefully. "I know coming out to your parents is going to be scary for him. It always is, . . . but he deserves to be happy, Cooper. Their initial reaction will be the worst and then they will just have to learn to deal with it."

"Coop?" Blaine called again from the other room.

"Be right there, Squirt," he answered his little brother, finally getting up from the sofa.

Magnus let out a heavy sigh as he watched Cooper walk out of the room. "He is clearly worried about his brother."

"Of course he is," Alec noted. "But you can't force the kid to come out if he's not ready. They have to figure this out on their own."

"I know, I know," the warlock nodded slowly to himself, digging through one of his bags. "I just hope everything is going to work out for them. Especially with Blaine."

"Hey." Magnus turned around at the sound of Alec's voice to find him holding out a small black bag towards him. "I got you something in Tokyo."

"For me?" he asked, surprise written all over his face.

"Yes, _you_," Alec emphasized, handing over the gift. "Open it."

Slipping one hand under the tissue paper that lined the inside of the bag, Magnus pulled out a small, red and yellow charm.

"It's supposed to bring you luck and protection," he heard Alec explain.

"Thank you, Alexander." Magnus said, sincerity seeping into his voice. He took a couple steps closer to the Shadowhunter until their faces were just inches apart. "You continue to surprise me."

"In good ways, I hope," he whispered in response before leaning forward and capturing the warlock's lips.

* * *

Once Cooper and Blaine had finished their supper, the Shadowhunters decided to head back to the Institute to catch up on any work that needed doing or get in a couple hours of training before going to bed.

With the rest of the night at his disposal, Magnus portaled himself into the alley right next to the Hunter's Moon bar before making his way inside the establishment and taking a seat at one of the stools lining the counter. Placing his order with Maia, a werewolf, Magnus dug the omamori charm out of his pocket, running his fingers over the brocade fabric.

"Aw, thank you my dear," Magnus acknowledged Maia when she placed his drink in front him and he slid his money across the counter.

Maia waved off the payment. "Don't worry about it. It's on the house for my best tipper," she smirked at him.

"You should never trust a stingy warlock, Maia," Magnus advised, leaving the offered payment on the counter. "Not when we have an eternity to acquire our wealth."

"I'll keep that in mind," Maia nodded once before pocketing the cash and moved on to help her next customer.

Setting his charm down on the counter near him, the warlock picked up his drink and took a sip.

"What is that?"

Glancing to his left, Magnus caught Blaine making himself comfortable on the stool next to him. The boy grinned and nodded at the red and yellow colored object that was resting on the counter as farther encouragement for him to explain.

"It's a gift," the Downworlder explained. Setting his drink down, he ran his middle and pointer fingers over the Japanese lettering that was stitched into the fabric. "I can't remember the last time someone bought me one. I'm used to people making demands. _'Reinforce the wards, Magnus.' 'Heal my broken heart, Magnus.' 'Portal me to Paris, Magnus.'_"

Blaine let out a soft chuckle at the voices the warlock put on for each of his examples.

Magnus raised an eyebrow at the kid. "I thought you were going back to the Institute with Alec and Cooper."

All the humor left Blaine's face at his words and he turned his eyes to the counter. "I didn't want to risk running into my parents. I'm hoping, if I wait long enough, they will have gone to bed by the time I get back."

Magnus brought his drink back to his lips. "You know, avoiding your parents isn't going to solve anything."

The teen shrugged his shoulders in response to the warlock, and only raised his head when Maia came over to ask if he would like anything. He ordered a soda and after preparing his drink, Maia walked off again, leaving them alone.

"I want to tell them," Blaine finally spoke up after a long pause. "It's just . . ."

Magnus nodded. "I get it. You're worried about how they will react, . . . but I really think you will feel better once you have told them the truth. Besides, it should also kick this whole 'arranged marriage' thing off the tables," he reminded him. Blaine still looked anxious though, so Magnus added, "No matter how they react, at least they will know. And whether they approve or not, it's your life." He nudged the teen with his elbow. "You need to do what makes you happy, kid."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Alec, Isabelle, Cooper, and Blaine were gathered around one of the computer screens in the lobby of the New York Institute when they heard a voice call out behind them.

"Hey, you guys!"

Turning around, the siblings' eyes widened in happy surprise to find their little brother running over to them.

"Hey, buddy," Alec smiled, greeting their new arrival. "How are you doing?"

"Max!" Izzy cried, squatting down to give her youngest brother a hug. "I missed you so much!"

Before Max could respond, another figure approached them; the soft taps of her high heels on the tiled floor announcing her arrival.

"Alec. Isabelle. It's good to see you both," the woman greeted them with the cold facial expression the siblings had gotten used to seeing plastered to their mother's face over the years. "Blaine. Cooper. I didn't know you two were going to be here."

"Family vacation." Cooper shrugged. "We're only here for a few more days."

"What are you guys doing here?" Alec asked trying his best to keep his features relaxed, while Izzy sent their mother a death glare.

Ignoring the look, Maryse placed her hands on Max's shoulders. "Max has some big news. Tell them, sweetheart."

"I passed my last trial," the boy cried, bouncing on his toes, clearly not able to keep the news in any longer anyways. "I'm ready for my Rune Ceremony!"

"Congratulations, Max!" Blaine cheered happily.

"So, you finally perfected your roundhouse kick?" Izzy asked, abandoning the stone glare to send a small smirk at her baby brother.

"Yup." The boy's grin grew on his face. "And I knocked out _two_ different instructors."

"Yes," Maryse agreed, a small smile playing on her lips as she gave Max's shoulders a squeeze. "We are all very excited about his achievements. Now, Alec," she said, turning her attention to one of the men standing in front of her. "Sadly, your father won't be able to make it. So, as the eldest male in the family, you will be in charge of arranging Max's ceremonial party."

Alec's eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. "What do you mean he won't be here?"

"He's busy running the Valentine task force back in Idris," Maryse explained matter-of-factly, but her tone didn't help the dark mood that had suddenly drifted over the excited group.

"I can't believe dad is going to miss this," Izzy said, sounding depressed.

Maryse shrugged. "He doesn't have a choice. We're all on high alert now that Valentine appears to have possession of both the Mortal Cup and the Soul-Sword."

"Come on, Max. Why don't we grab your bags and get you situated in your room, huh?" Izzy asked after an awkward pause had drifted over the group, obviously wanting to get away from her mother for a little while and Cooper slinked away with them.

"Anyways . . ." Blaine drowned out the word, trying to think of something to say to make the situation less awkward. "Where do you think we should host this party for Max?" he asked. Crossing his arms over his chest, he stole a glance up at Alec next to him.

Alec pondered the question for a moment. "What about at Magnus' loft?" he asked, raising his eyebrows as he glanced down at his cousin. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

"No." His mother's stern voice drew his attention towards her again. "The Rune Ceremony is a solemn rite of passage for Shadowhunters. We are not going to let some Downworlder host the event."

"First, Magnus isn't just _some_ Downworlder," Alec snapped back. "Second, I thought you said _I_ was in charge of planning this party. What would be so wrong about having it at Magnus' place?"

"This dinner, it should be about family. _Our_ family," his mother emphasized. "The last thing I want is for it to be turned into a rave."

"Who said anything about a rave?" Blaine spoke up. "And why are only Shadowhunters invited? Magnus is Alec's boyfriend. He should be able to attend just like anybody else."

"It's tradition–" Maryse tried to protest, but Alec jumped in interrupting her.

"Traditions change," he snapped, "especially those based on ignorance." Maryse chuckled softly, but Alec ignored her as he continued. "Anyone who cares about Max should be there. I'm going to talk to Magnus about it tonight, and if he agrees, we will be having the party at his place." With that, Alec turned and walked away from his mother, needing to be as far away from her as possible at that moment.

* * *

It took a little convincing on Alec's part, but in the end, Magnus couldn't say no to his boyfriend's idea of having him host Max's ceremonial party in his loft.

After much discussion, they fell on the decision that a Spanish theme would be the best. With Robert, Alec's father, not being able to make it to the ceremony, Magnus hoped that having the happy memory of her husband's Spain proposal may help to melt the ice of Maryse's stone cold heart towards him, and to Alec it showed how much Magnus cared about his family's history. And with the big ice sculptured shaped angelic rune sitting on the table in the center of room, the subject of the party was hard to deter.

By eight o'clock on the night of the party, the apartment was filled with Shadowhunters. Maia had her little drink bar set up in the corner of the living room; sangrias being the drink of choice, while a handful of waiters in white button-down shirts and black pants walked around the floor offering appetizers to their guests.

Standing in the walkway that led towards the front door, Magnus and Alec surveyed the scene. Alec spied Jace and Cooper conversing with each other on one side of the room. Blaine was standing close to his brother's side as he stared at something . . . or someone out of Alec's eye line. Whatever it was that was distracting the young Shadowhunter was causing a look of apprehension on the boy's face. He considered heading over to check on his cousin, but with Magnus' concerned voice rambling beside him, he had other things on his mind at the moment.

" . . . and I'm worried the empanadas may be soggy. I gave the chef _specific_ directions–"

"Magnus," Alec stated firmly turning to lock eyes with his boyfriend before lowering his voice into a more soothing tone. "Everything is perfect."

By the look on Magnus' face, the warlock still didn't appear convinced by Alec's words, but at least he had dropped the topic for the moment.

"I don't know how much more of this I can take."

Alec turned his gaze away from Magnus to find Blaine walking over.

"Everything okay?" he asked his obviously distressed cousin.

Blaine looked back over his shoulder and gestured to the adult couple that was now sitting on one of the couches, before crossing his arms over his chest. A young girl around Blaine's age was sitting between them talking animatedly to the grownups.

"Who are they?" Magnus asked, leaning closer to Alec to be heard over the noise of the crowd.

"My aunt and uncle," Alec explained. "Blaine and Cooper's parents. I've never seen the girl before."

"That's _her_," Blaine groaned, gaining Alec and Magnus' attention again. "She's the one my parents want me to marry."

With this new information in mind, Alec took another look at the teenage girl sitting between his relatives. She had long, blonde hair that hung in waves that flowed down past her shoulders. Her black dress was a bit sexual with its thin shoulder straps and a low neckline that presented some cleavage. The outfit came down to just above her knees, showing off her long legs.

"Her name is Nico," Blaine provided. "I just met her this morning; along with _her_ parents."

Before Alec or Magnus could say anything in return, they heard the front door open behind them. As one, the group turned to find a child wandering into the loft in a dark gray dress shirt.

"Max!" Alec cheered happily, and the boy returned the greeting with a smile before strolling over to them.

Blaine studied the closed door for a moment before turning to Max. "Where is Aunt Maryse?"

Max frowned. "Down in the lobby. _Father_ just called her," he said, his tone showing his irritation. "After this, she's probably going to be in a bad mood for the rest of the night."

"What's the problem?" Magnus asked, confusion clouding his face.

"Our parents have been arguing a lot lately," Alec explained.

Blaine frowned as he looked up at him, arms still crossed. "About you and Magnus?"

"Not just them," Max answered for his older brother, shaking his head. "What to do about Jace and his demon blood. Dad not coming home when he says he's going to. The best way to go about tracking Valentine down . . ." he listed, before pausing with a tired sigh. "They seem to be arguing about everything lately."

"Well," Magnus spoke up cheerfully, "try not to worry about all that right now. This is your night, after all. How about a drink; a Roy Rogers?" he asked, raising an eyebrow in question.

Max allowed a small smile to grow on his face before nodding his head and Magnus gestured for the boy to follow him.

* * *

Jace walked passed Magnus, Alec, Blaine, and Max as they headed towards the bar to talk to Maia.

"Hey," he called as he drew closer to Clary and Simon who had just recently entered the party.

"Hey," Simon returned.

"Hi, Jace."

"You two look cute together." Jace felt his heartache as the words left his lips.

"Thanks. We were just going to head to the bar to see what kinds of blood types Magnus has on tap," Simon explained, gesturing to the group that was now gathered around Maia's station. "Do you want anything?"

Jace raised his almost full glass of sangria up for Simon to see, and heard Clary chuckled softly next to him. "I'm good."

"Right . . . " Simon dragged out the word before slinking off in the direction of the bar.

* * *

"Hey, Max," Simon called as he approached the group. "Congratulations."

"Thanks, Simon," Max greeted before bringing his drink to his lips.

"Looks like you talked to Clary," Maia noted, nodding towards the redhead behind him. She forced a shy smile as the vampire gave a quick look over his shoulder.

"What talk?"

Before Simon could answer Alec's question, Magnus rested a hand on his boyfriend's arm. "I think he means that they are . . . an item now?" he asked, sending Simon one of his small smirks.

"You and Clary?" Blaine beamed at Simon. "When did that happen?"

He could have sworn he felt his face getting warm. "A couple hours ago?" he stated slowly. "Maia, um, I just wanted to say thank you for being so cool about, you know . . . everything."

"Yeah, just don't screw it up by talking too much," she said in a slightly sarcastic tone and gave a quick glance down at her watch. "Uh, looks like it's about time for my break," she added eyeing Magnus. Receiving the nod of approval from her _'boss'_ for the night, Maia turned to walk away.

After a slight hesitation, Simon followed.

* * *

"Is everything okay?" Jace asked, catching the look of surprise on Clary's face.

"Uh, yeah . . ." Clary sighed, keeping her eyes locked on something that was happening behind him. "I'll be right back," she said quickly before hurrying off, not waiting for Jace's reply.

* * *

Blaine was just making his way back to his brother's side when he caught sight of Isabelle entering the apartment.

"Hey, Izzy?" Blaine called to her, gaining her attention. "Where have you been all day?" he asked as she approached.

"Around," she waved off the question with a shrug. "I had a few errands to run." Turning away from him, Izzy scanned the guests that were gathered around the living room.

"That's pretty," Blaine noted, catching a glimpse of the ruby necklace that his cousin was wearing.

Izzy sent him a confused look before glancing down to find out what he was looking at. "Oh, thanks." She brushed her thumb over the red ruby before tapping it softly. "It's an heirloom. The ruby pulses and glows whenever a demon is close by."

"Really?" the teen asked, an eyebrow rising slightly. "Probably comes in handy sometimes."

Izzy smirked at him. "You know, I have actually been fiddling around lately with the idea of making more of these. Would you be interested in one if I could get them working?"

Blaine's eyes lit up at the news. "Yeah, definitely."

"I'll keep you updated then," Izzy said, sending him a smile before going back to watching the crowd. "Have you seen Max or my mom at all?"

"I haven't seen Aunt Maryse, but Max is over there with Alec and Magnus," the teen explained, pointing out the boys just as they were disappearing out onto the patio.

"Thanks," Izzy said, taking a step in that direction. "I should go and say hi. I'll see you later?"

* * *

Clary pushed her way through a group of Shadowhunters, not even bothering to apologize. She could feel tears threatening behind her eyes but she quickly blinked them away before they could escape down her cheeks.

She paused to lean against the wall, trying to get her mind around what she had just witnessed. It didn't make any sense. She had known Simon since they were kids. She thought she knew him better than anyone, but . . .

"Clary!"

Clary's eyes snapped open and she pushed herself away from the wall, desperate to get away before the voice caught up to her.

"Clary!" Too late. She felt the owner of the voice grab her arm forcing her to stop. "Hey, there you are. I've been looking everywhere for you."

She quickly wiped away a few tears that had found their way pass her eyelids before spinning around to face the man that had upset her.

"Everywhere, huh?"

Simon dropped the hand that was holding her arm and took a step back, blinking in surprise at the tone in her voice. "Is everything okay? Did something happen?"

The redhead let out a bark of laughter. "Really? Did you really think I wasn't going to find out?" Simon just gave her a weird look, so she continued. "I saw you! With Maia!"

"I don't–" Simon started to protest, but then hesitated as understanding drifted into his expression. "Oh god, you saw us . . ."

"Yeah," she scoffed.

"Look, she kissed me," Simon tried, taking a step closer again. "I – I didn't know what to do."

"How about pushing her away? How about telling her that you have a _girlfriend_? Just because _she_ kissed _you_ doesn't make it okay to make out with her!" she snapped sarcastically.

"No, we weren't . . . We weren't making out," he stuttered, trying to think of something to say to explain himself. "We were just, I don't know, having a moment," he finally landed on, but seeing the look in Clary's eyes, that was obviously not what he should have said.

"I can't believe this is happening." She turned to walk away, but Simon reached for her arm again.

"Look . . . Clary, no matter how close we are, you will never understand what it's like to live like _this_. But she does. She gets it."

Clary stared back him, letting his words sink in. She didn't bother to wipe away the tears that were now running down her cheeks. "Then why did you say you wanted to be with me?" she asked softly.

Watching Simon stuttering for a response, Clary finally turned away from him and hurried towards the bathroom to clean herself up.

* * *

"Hey, guys," Izzy called as she walked out onto the patio.

"Isabelle!" Max cried. "You made it."

"Of course I did. I wouldn't miss this." She turned her eyes to Alec. "Unlike our father."

Max let out a groan and dropped his hold on his sister, taking a step back.

"Where's mom?" Izzy asked.

"Don't know," Alec said with a shrug. "Max said she was in the lobby talking to dad on her phone, but that was almost an hour ago."

"I'm glad they're not here."

"Max, you don't mean that," Izzy stated.

"They would just find something to argue about, or mom would keep making comments about Alec and Magnus' relationship," he pouted. "This is supposed to be my big initiation to becoming a Shadowhunter. If she was here, she would just find some way to gain everyone's attention by making this all about her."

"You're right," Magnus spoke up. "This is a big day for you. You are going to be appointed a warrior, to help preside over the Downworlders." The warlock kneeled down in front of kid. "So, I got you something. In honor of your big day"

"Magnus, you didn't have to–" Alec tried to intervene, but a small smile did play on his lips.

"It's nothing big," Magnus gently argued back, looking up at his boyfriend from his lowered stance. He turned back to lock eyes with Max, holding his hands up for him to see. "Just a little gift to help commemorate the big day."

Max frowned. "I don't see anything."

"That's because you're not looking hard enough." Max gave him a disapproving look and Magnus chuckled softly before snapping his fingers, and a long white box with a red ribbon tied around it appeared in his out stretched hands, causing the kid's eyes to widen slightly. "Congratulations, young Shadowhunter."

"What do you say, Max?" Alec asked, giving him a pat on the back.

"Thank you," Max said, clutching the gift to his chest and Magnus got back to his feet before ruffling the kid's hair. "Where's your warlock mark?" Max asked suddenly, causing the man to frown at the unexpected question.

"Max . . ." Izzy warned.

Magnus waved her off, keeping his main focus on the kid standing in front of him. "It's okay. I only share it with my closest friends." With that, Magnus leaned forward before letting his glamour drop, allowing his cat eyes to appear just as Jace, Blaine, and Cooper were coming out to join them.

Max flinched back as the yellow eyes flashed into existence. "How much of you is a demon?" The words come out sounding hostile.

"Max, enough," Jace scolded as Magnus restored his glamour. "That's not how we treat our friends. Apologize to Magnus."

Max narrowed his eyes at Jace, suddenly growing irritated. "_You_ can't tell me what to do."

Alec frowned down at his brother. "Hey, just because you're getting your first rune doesn't mean you can talk to your brother like that."

"Jace isn't my brother."

"Max!" Cooper jumped in. "What has gotten into you?"

"He's not," Max defended with a small shrug. "Mom says he's not even part of our family."

With a distraught look, Jace turned and headed back into the apartment with Magnus close on his tail.

"Max, that was not appropriate," Izzy stated, glaring down at her younger brother.

"But–" Max tried, but Alec jumped in before he could say anything else.

"I don't care," Alec scolded. "You are going to apologize to both Jace and Magnus later." He turned to address his cousins. "Can you two watch Max for a few minutes?"

"Yeah, of course." Cooper nodded, and Izzy and Alec hurried inside to try and find Jace.

"He's not my brother," Max muttered under his breath as his older siblings disappeared inside, but Cooper and Blaine heard him anyways.

Blaine narrowed his eyes at the boy and folded his arms. "Why? Because he's adopted?"

"Just because he's not related to you by blood doesn't mean he's not family," Cooper added.

Max didn't say anything. Instead, he gazed down at the present that was still in his hands.

"What's that?" Blaine asked.

Max shrugged. "Magnus just gave it to me."

"You want to open it?" Cooper asked.

Without another word, Max turned to walk over to a table that was sitting by the wall and set his present down on the surface so he could open it. Blaine walked up behind him and rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, there you are."

Blaine froze at the familiarity of the voice before slowly turning to find both of his parents staring back at him.

"What are you doing out here?" his mother asked, a crease in her brow.

"You have barely talked to Nico at all tonight," his father added. "Don't you think you should be spending sometime with her?"

Cooper scooped up Max's present and the wrapping paper before ushering the boy inside to give Blaine and his parents some privacy.

"But I don't want to marry her," Blaine tried to protest.

"You don't even know her," his mother tried. "At least give the girl a chance before you write her off."

"It's not going to make a difference," Blaine sighed under his breath, turning away from his parents' scowls.

"What are you talking about? Marrying Nico could be a solid partnership."

"Solid partnership?" Blaine echoed, interrupting his father and glaring back at his parents.

"It is tradition for Shadowhunters to marry for honor," his father said, his voice rising considerably. "It could be a good match for you and Nico."

"I don't want to marry for honor," Blaine snapped back in frustration. "I want to marry someone I _love_. I want to be with someone I care about."

"Then talk to Nico," his mother stated slowly, stressing each word. "You never know. You might grow to love her."

"It's not going to happen. I could never fall in love with her!"

"You don't know that," his mother tried again. "How could you possibly know that without getting to know her first?"

"Because I'm gay!"

Blaine froze as the words left his lips. He hadn't meant to say them out loud, but there it was. It was out. Staring back at his shocked parents, he felt a sudden coldness seeping into his core. He could still hear the laughter and chatter from the party guests inside, but it felt like that was another world away compared to what was staring back at him out on the patio.

"_Gay_?" his father said, finally breaking the silence. "You are not _gay_."

"Dad–"

"No!" he snapped, and Blaine shrunk back a step. "We didn't raise you this way. Not like Alec. No son of mine is going to be a fag!"

"Hey!"

Both of his parents spun around to find an infuriated Cooper glaring back at them.

"Stay out of this, Cooper," their father demanded. "This doesn't concern you."

"He is my little brother. Of course this concerns me, and I'm not just going to stand by while you call him names."

Ignoring him, his mom and dad turned back to face their youngest son.

"It doesn't have to be this way, kid. Come inside and talk to Nico, or you won't be returning to Ohio with us."

Blaine felt tears threatening behind his eyes, and he blinked up at his father. Surely he hadn't heard him right. "What do you mean _'I won't be going home'_?"

"I won't have a fag living under my roof. Either drop this insane act and come inside, or you won't be coming home with us." And with that, both of his parents turned and made their way past their oldest son and back into the loft.

"Blaine?" Cooper asked, slowly approaching his baby brother. "Are you okay, Squirt?"

With a sob, Blaine fell into Cooper's arms, holding each other close.

* * *

Returning back inside the loft, Izzy quickly disappeared into the crowd in the direction that Alec thought he had seen Magnus heading in. Scanning the living room, Alec was surprised to finally see his mother walking into the room, but he let her go with barely a glance when he saw a familiar redhead making a beeline for the front door. Pushing his way through the crowd of people, Alec caught up to the girl right before she reached the door and rested his hand on the woman's shoulder to gain her attention.

"Hey, are you leaving already?" he asked, and then stared in shock at the tearstains that trailed down her face. "Are you okay? What happened?"

Clary brushed the hand that was still lying on her shoulder off and glared at him. "Why do you care?"

Alec stared back at her, shocked by her tone. "Of course I care. Did something happen? Why are you leaving?"

Her stance changed, and her upset look took on an angry expression right before his eyes. "I have to," she mocked taking a few steps forward causing Alec to stumble back. "Seeing you here; drink in hand, all smiles, it makes me sick."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about you killing my mom." Clary paused in her accusations towards the man standing in front of her when something caught her eye over his shoulder. "You have _got_ to be kidding me," she cried before stomping off back in the direction of the living room, leaving Alec standing in shock.

"Slow down, hotshot," Magnus said, practically slamming right into her and placing a hand on both of her shoulders to stop her in her place.

"Get out of my way, Magnus."

"Oh, no. I'm not letting you create a scene. This is an elegant affair, not an episode of The Real Housewives of Idris."

"Tell Simon that, because I can't just stand here while he hits on Maia right in front of me!" she yelled above the volume in the room as she pointed to the accusing man behind Magnus causing a few curious glances in her direction, but Clary paid them no mind.

Glancing over his shoulder, Magnus took in the sight of the vampire making small talk with Raj. Granted, seeing a Downworlder making friendly with Raj was a bit of a shock to the warlock, but it wasn't anything like what Clary was describing seeing happening right in front of her.

Turning back to the distraught girl, Magnus raised an eyebrow at her curiously. "I think we have different ideas when it comes to courtship."

While Clary continued to throw a fit right in front of him, Magnus' eyes suddenly landed on Jace who was exiting his guest room before being stopped by Izzy. He was able to catch Izzy asking him something about her mom before Jace leaned in closer to whisper something in her ear. Tilting his body farther to the right, he was just barely able to make out what appeared to be Maryse lying unconscious on the floor in the guest room.

"Magnus, I can't stay here, okay?" Clary's voice registered in Magnus' ear again. "Everyone is acting completely insane. I have to get out of here."

The warlock quickly grabbed her by the wrist before she could turn away from him. "Not while you're hallucinating," he said in a firm voice before dragging her to the last place he had seen Alec, by the door.

"Alexander!"

"What . . .?" the man asked cautiously, eyeing Clary and the hold Magnus had on her arm.

The redhead tried unsuccessfully to pull out of the warlock's hold to no avail.

"Something's happened to your mother."

The tone in Magnus' voice caught Alec's notice, and he finally turned his full attention towards his boyfriend. "What do you mean? What happened?"

"Just get Simon and meet me in the guest room," he demanded, ignoring his boyfriend's questions. Magnus then turned and started to drag Clary with him.

By the time he entered the guest room with Clary in tow, Izzy was on her knees checking over her mother while Jace stood nearby surveying the scene.

"What happened?" Magnus asked as he let the door slide close behind him. Only then did he let go of his hold on Clary's arm.

"She just tried to kill me, Magnus," Jace defended himself as he gestured towards the woman lying on the ground.

"Here," Magnus sighed as he kneeled down next to Izzy. "This should help." Seconds later, the warlock was sending beams of light blue magic into Maryse's forehead.

It wasn't long before they heard the sound of the door opening and closing again.

"Wow," came Simon's voice as he took in the scene for himself. "What is going on here?"

"Oh, what do you care?" Clary snapped at him. "Maia is at the bar."

"Yes," the vampire replied, clearly confused by the statement. He then gestured towards the scene that was playing out in front of them. "And Maryse's on the ground. Is she okay?"

"She just threw an axe at my head," Jace insisted again, pointing at the wall across from them. "It's stuck in the shelf, right there."

Izzy sent him a concerned look. "Jace, there's nothing there."

"What are you talking about?" Jace exclaimed, perplexed. "It's right there. Why can't you see it?"

Maryse suddenly let out a gasp as she was brought back to consciousness.

"Mom?" Alec came around to bend down next to her on the other side from Magnus and Izzy. "Are you okay?" He started to help her slowly sit up.

"Hey, hey, hey," Jace rebuked at the action. "Don't let her up. She's out of her mind."

"Jace," Maryse sighed, leaning lightly against Alec's body as he helped her back to her feet. "I came up here to apologize to you."

"Then, why would you–?"

"I should have killed you when I had the chance," Maryse interrupted.

Jace blinked at her suspiciously and looked around at everyone gathered, but no one else seemed to have heard the threat come from the woman's lips.

"Listen to me," Magnus said, trying to calm the situation. "Nobody's trying to kill you. Someone's playing with our minds. Feeding into our insecurities."

But it was no use. Izzy, Clary, Alec, Maryse, Simon, and Jace started yelling at each other, speaking over Magnus to where he couldn't get a word in edgewise.

Having enough of the drama parading itself amongst his party guests, Magnus strolled out of the room and headed straight for the safe he kept in one of his hall cabinets. With a quick spell, he undid the combination and retrieved the big book that was stored inside before bee-lining it back to the others who were still screaming at each other.

After a few frantic seconds of flipping through pages, Magnus eventually found what he was looking for and read a single spell from the book in a different language. Waving his hand around in a circle, sparks of blue floated out of his fingertips . . . and when he was done, everyone stood in shocked silence as they tried to determine what had just happened.

* * *

Blaine laid flat on his stomach along his bed, his face buried in his pillow as he sobbed into the fabric. His hands were clenched into fists, one under his pillow while the other rested by his side.

His brother had escorted him back to the Institute shortly after their parents had left them alone on the patio. He couldn't stop thinking about what had transpired at the party. His parents' words kept repeating themselves inside his head like a recorder that he couldn't get to shut off. He would do anything to be able to go back in time and not utter those words that had ruined everything for him.

A soft knock sounded at his door. At first, he ignored it. The last thing he wanted right now was company, but then someone spoke up from the other side.

"Blaine, it's me," came the soft voice of his older brother. "Can I come in, Squirt?"

"Fine," he hiccuped, turning his head sideways on his pillow so he could watch Cooper as he closed the door softly and walked slowly over towards him.

Cooper took a seat on the side of bed before placing a hand on Blaine's back, rubbing his palm in small circles in a comforting manner. "How are you doing?"

Blaine shrugged awkwardly in his position on the bed and wiped away a few tears from his cheeks.

Silence drifted over the room for a few minutes, and Blaine focused his attention on the soothing motions of his brother's hand along his back as he worked on getting his breathing under control.

"Everyone is starting to return from the party," Cooper spoke up suddenly.

Blaine kept silent.

"I'm sorry about our parents. I never wanted you to have to go through that."

"I know," Blaine sighed. "It's not your fault they don't understand."

Cooper went silent for a couple seconds before finally adding. "You know . . . I ran into Jace out in the hallway. Something happened after we left."

The teen turned his head so he could see his brother more clearly. "What happened?"

"I don't want you to get your hopes up," Cooper stated. "It might not mean anything for you."

"What?"

Cooper sighed. "Apparently, there was another warlock at the party besides for Magnus who put some kind of . . . insecurity spell on some of the guests. Some people were seeing and hearing stuff that wasn't actually happening around them."

Blaine twisted around so that he was lying on his back. "Like what?"

"For example, Clary swears she saw her date, Simon, making out with some other girl, and Jace said he thought Aunt Maryse attacked him with an axe."

"What?!" Blaine cried, sitting up on his bed. "Is everyone okay?"

Cooper nodded. "Yeah, everything's fine now. Magnus used some kind of reversal spell and everyone is back to normal, but . . ."

"Our parents . . ." Blaine mumbled as what Cooper was saying slowly sank in. "They could have been under this spell too?"

"I don't know," Cooper said, not liking the fact that Blaine seemed to be getting so excited over this news. "Just remember, they weren't under any spell when they first heard about Alec. This may not–"

But Blaine was already out of bed and rushing for the door.

"Blaine!" Cooper called out, but it was no use.

The teen sprinted down the hallway, sliding around a corner in his socks before gliding to a stop along the wooden floor in front of his parents' bedroom door. Light was still spilling out of the crack at the bottom, so he knew his parents were awake.

Taking a minute to catch his breath, Blaine rapped his fist a couple times against the door and waited to hear a response from inside.

"Come in," he heard his mother call, and he slowly opened the door to find both of his parents standing by their bed with their backs to him.

"Mom? Dad?" he called timidly, still shaking from the last conversation he had had with them. "I just, I . . ."

"What do you want, Blaine?" his father demanded without turning around.

Blaine flinched back a step at the dark tone but fought back against the thoughts that were circling in his head telling him to run back to his room and hide under his covers. He was a Shadowhunter, after all. He had faced off against creatures a lot scarier than his father before.

"I just wanted to make sure we were okay . . . You know, after what I said at the party tonight?"

"Depends," his father said in an even tone. "Are you willing to spend sometime with Nico? See where things go?"

Blaine shuffled his feet uncomfortably. "I meant what I said. I don't want to marry someone that I won't be able to fall in love with." Taking another look at his parents stationed at the side of their bed, Blaine spied the stacks of clothes spread out on the sheets and the open suitcases in front of them. "Why are you packing your bags?" Blaine asked in surprise. "I thought we were staying for a few more days?"

"We just got a call from the head of the Ohio Institute. Something has come up and they need us to return as soon as possible," his mother explained as she folded yet another shirt and placed it into her suitcase.

"Okay, I'll go pack my bags and let Cooper know." He turned to head back to the door. "When are we leaving?"

"_You_ aren't going anywhere," his father growled, finally looking up from his bags to face him. "Not if you keep insisting on this . . . _gay_ thing."

Blaine looked back over his shoulder and stared back into his father's dark eyes, a shiver running up his spine.

He wished he could tell them that he would change. That he would spend sometime with Nico and promise to settle down with an honorable woman to make his parents and his Institute proud of him . . . but he couldn't. He didn't want to throw his life away for someone he couldn't truly love like he wanted to. It wouldn't be fair to whomever he ended up marrying, and it wouldn't be fair for himself.

"It's not something I can change," the teen said, doing his best not to tremble under his father's intense stare. "It's just . . . who I am."

His father glared back at him in silence. Blaine waited for him to speak, dread flowing through his veins as the seconds ticked by. When the man did finally speak, his voice was ice cold and Blaine's breath caught in his throat as the meaning to his words sank in and he felt like he was falling.

"Then this is goodbye."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Why can't I stay with _you_?" Blaine asked with desperation in his voice as he clung to his brother's shirt.

The sun was just starting to peek its way over the horizon. Their parents were on their way down with the rest of their luggage. As soon as they returned Blaine knew that Cooper, the one person who had always had his back over the years, was going to be ripped away from him. He just wanted to hold on to him for as long as he could.

"You know I'd love to have you live with me, Squirt, but Macy and I have been thinking about starting a family soon. You don't want to stay in a house with a screaming baby, do you?" Cooper asked, looking down at his little brother in amusement.

Blaine looked up at Cooper with pleading eyes. "They would be my little niece or nephew. I wouldn't mind. And I could help out around the house, and help with the baby, and–"

"Blaine." Cooper gave him a stern look, before relaxing his expression again and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I think this could be good for you. Here, you have Alec and his supportive siblings hanging around. Along with Clary and Magnus who we know are also okay with the gay thing. Honestly, I think you could be really happy here. And who knows," he added, winking at his little brother. "Your future husband could be somewhere here in New York."

Blaine rolled his eyes at the comment but smiled back at his brother. "Still, I'm going to miss you."

Cooper pulled him in for another hug. "Oh, we'll still be in touch, and I'll come by and visit you soon. I promise."

* * *

**Two Weeks Later**

Blaine stumbled back a step as Clary's foot came up, kicking him in his abdomen. Letting out a soft groan at the surprise contact, he gripped his practice staff tightly in his hands before striding forward again. Swinging his weapon up and down and pushing his weight forward, he started to succeed in driving the girl back a few steps. Blaine continued with this action for a few more seconds before suddenly leaning over and swiping one end of the staff down to hit Clary's calves, causing the redhead to fall back against the dark tiled floor of the training room.

Breathing hard, Clary looked up at Blaine standing over her before allowing a small chuckle to pass her lips. With a shy grin, Blaine leaned forward again, offering a hand to help her up.

"You're getting better," the teenage boy noted. He took a couple steps backwards once the girl was standing again, giving a quick twirl to the staff that was still in his hands. "You should watch your footwork though."

"I've heard," Clary groaned to herself, and made to take another swipe at her training partner.

* * *

Eventually, Clary had to go to get ready for a date she had scheduled with Simon, and Blaine found himself alone in Institute's gym standing in front of the punching bag.

WhhhhAAAAppp BAP BAP

Blaine paused, digging the toes of his right foot into the ground to help with his swing before going in again, turning his hips and shoulders into the punch.

WhhhhAAAAppp BAP BAP

He could feel sweat matting on his forehead. He wiped his forearm across the wet skin, trying to prevent it from running into his vision. Switching his weight as he leaned forward slightly, he took another couple swings at the bag.

WhhhhAAAAppp BAP BAP

The muscles in his arms and legs were already exhausted from his training session with Clary, screaming at him to stop, but he ignored the pain. Instead, he kept his eyes locked on the target in front of him.

WhhhhAAAAppp BAP BAP

If Blaine stopped to rest, he knew his mind would wander towards his brother, or worse, his mom and dad.

He had been able to talk to Cooper a couple times on the phone, but his brother was married and he had responsibilities of his own. It was hard finding a time where they both had a decent amount of time to just talk like they had seemed to have plenty of when they had both been working at the same Institute back in Ohio. As for his parents, he hadn't heard anything from them since they left him in New York. He had left a couple messages, but hadn't heard anything back from either of them . . . Not that he expected to after how things had ended the last time they saw each other.

Thinking about it hurt too much. Keeping busy helped. So, with his muscles screaming for a break, Blaine turned his aching body towards the bag yet again.

WhhhhAAAAppp BAP BAP

* * *

A few hours later, Blaine had showered and was sitting at one of the computers in the New York Institute's lobby doing research. A notebook was open just to his right that had a few scribbled notes written on it, most of which was probably gibberish. Honestly, he couldn't see how any of it would be of any help in tracking down Valentine, but at least he was doing something.

He was so focused on the screens in front of him that he didn't hear when someone walked up behind him.

"Blaine?"

The teen jumped in surprise and swiveled around in his chair to face Alec and Izzy, both staring at him with concern.

"It's getting kind of late." Izzy crossed her arms as she eyed him. "Are you still working?"

Blaine pulled his phone out of his pocket and pressed the home button, allowing the screen to light up, revealing the time. 8:34 pm

The teen slipped the device away again. "I've been trying to find some information on Valentine. If he really does have possession of both the Mortal Cup and the Soul Sword . . ." Blaine let the sentence hang. He rubbed his tired eyes before glancing back up at his cousins. "I guess I lost track of the time."

Alec's eyebrows scrunched together as he studied him skeptically. "Have you even had dinner yet?"

Blaine shrugged. "No, but I'm fine. I'm not hungry anyways," he said, spinning back around to face the computers.

"Look, Blaine," Izzy continued over his shoulder. "We appreciate all the hard work you have done since you joined our Institute, but you look exhausted. Your running yourself ragged with all these long hours you've been putting in. I really think you should slow it down a little. There's nothing wrong with taking some down time."

"But, with Valentine–" Blaine tried to protest as he turned back around.

"It doesn't matter." Alec shook his head. "You still need to take care of yourself." He paused before continuing. "I know you have been through a lot lately with your parents shutting you out and moving in here, but we are here for you if you need anything. All of us are."

"I appreciate the concern, but I'm fine," Blaine insisted. "Yes, everything with my parents has thrown me for a loop but keeping busy helps."

"Then what about a hobby?" Izzy suggested. "Something that could keep your mind busy but gets you out of the Institute every now and then."

"Yeah," Alec agreed. "A lot of us have things going on outside of work to help keep us grounded. I used to be really obsessed with the job until Magnus and I started dating. It has been nice having someone outside of the Institute to spend time with."

"And Clary has her artwork," Izzy added. "Maybe you could find something that interests you."

"Like what?"

Izzy handed him a colorful flyer that he hadn't noticed she had been holding until that moment. Taking the piece of paper from her, Blaine stared down at the words printed on the page. "_'Manhattan Community Center: Activities Fair'_?" Blaine read. "What is this?"

"A chance for you to find a hobby," Izzy said. "Maybe even make some new friends."

"But isn't this for mundanes?" Blaine questioned, glaring down at the flyer still in his hands.

"And what's wrong with mundanes?" Alex asked. "Part of our job is to protect them."

"Yes, but this would involve hanging out with them on a regular basis," Blaine pressed. "You're dating a warlock, Alec. At least he's part of our world, but this . . ." He waved the paper around a little in show. "I'm not going to be able to relate to them."

"You never know," Izzy insisted with a sigh. "The fair is tomorrow. Just go and look around. If you don't find anything you are interested in joining, fine, but who knows. You might stumble across something you'll really enjoy."

* * *

The next morning, Blaine had planted himself back in front of the same computer he had been working on the night before when Raj informed him that Victor Aldertree wanted to see him in his office. Shortly afterwards, he found himself sitting across from the head of the New York Institute in one of the red cushioned chairs, staring at the man with wide eyes.

"You're firing me?" Blaine cried out in astonishment, sitting up straighter in his seat in front of the massive desk. "What did I do?"

"I am not _firing_ you," Aldertree stressed. "We just can't provide you housing anymore."

"Why? I still don't understand."

Aldertree sighed as he reached for the piece of paper that was lying on the desk in front of him. "I received a fire-message from your father this morning." Blaine froze at the mention of his dad and waited for the man to continue. "He doesn't want us housing you here anymore. He says he's even willing to send us a generous amount of money every month to insure it."

"So, you are throwing me out on the street . . . for _money_?"

"Look around you, Anderson. This technology, the weapons . . . Where do you think all of this comes from? Having another income of money every month–"

"But where am I supposed to go?" Blaine interrupted.

"I'm sure you can figure something out," Aldertree said, shifting the papers around on his desk, obviously considering the conversation over. "You have twenty-four hours to move out of your current room."

* * *

With a heavy sigh, Blaine came up to stand next to Alec and Magnus who were studying some images that were displayed on a monitor.

Hearing the teen approach, Alec looked over in concern at the depressed sound. "You okay?"

"I just had a meeting with Aldertree," Blaine confessed, keeping his eyes glued to the photos on the screen. "I need to find a new place to live."

"Wait, what? Why?"

"My father's idea," the teen explained. Turning to face the couple, he continued. "Apparently, my parents want to make my life as difficult as possible, even from out of state. They are paying the Institute off to get me kicked out of housing."

"When are they kicking you out?" Alec questioned.

"He said I have twenty-four hours to get all my stuff out." Blaine turned back to the screen. "How am I suppose to find an apartment in one day?"

"You know, I have a spare room available in my loft," Magnus spoke up, his arms crossed over his chest. "Free of charge."

Blaine blinked at him in surprise. "Are you serious?" he asked skeptically.

Magnus raised an eyebrow at the kid, a small smile playing on his lips. "I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't serious."

"That's generous of you, but I wouldn't want to put you out," Blaine tried to protest.

"Magnus, you don't have too. We can figure something else out for him," Alec said, trying to agree with the teenager but Magnus wouldn't hear of it.

"Nah, it's no trouble. Besides, I've become pretty fond of the kid already," the warlock said, addressing Alec before turning his full attention towards Blaine again. "Really, the room is yours if you want it."

Blaine thought about it for a few seconds. The idea of staying with his cousin's boyfriend still seemed a little intruding to him, but really, what other choice did he have at the moment. He probably wasn't going to be able to find anywhere else as quickly as he needed.

"Okay," Blaine agreed hesitantly. "Thanks, Magnus, but I really shouldn't stay with you for free. I could pay you rent every month. Just–"

"No, you are practically family," Magnus insisted, glancing at his boyfriend out of the corner of his eye. "There are a few things I could use some help with around the loft though. What do you say? Help me out with the occasional chore, and the room is yours?"

That didn't sound bad at all, and it also made Blaine feel a little less guilty about boarding for free. At least he could do something as a thank you for Magnus' kindness.

A big smile grew on Blaine's face. "Deal."

* * *

Blaine stood in the middle of the sidewalk, staring at the building across the street with the sign above the door reading, "_Manhattan Community Center"_. Handfuls of people kept going in and out of the structure as he hesitated on the curb.

He still wasn't sure about this idea of Alec and Izzy's.

With a sigh, Blaine decided he would go in and take a quick look around. At least then he would have given it a shot, and he wouldn't have to lie to his cousins about having gone to the stupid thing.

Pushing his way through the door, he was instantly engulfed by the chatter of vendors raising their voices over each other to be heard as they explained their classes or events to people surrounding their tables. Scanning his eyes around his new environment, Blaine took in the rows of tables that were running up and down the hallway in both directions. He could also hear music playing from somewhere farther down the corridor, but it was to far away to make out the words to the song.

As he slowly made his way down one hallway, he noticed that many of the vendors seemed to be looking for volunteers for community service projects, which he strolled right passed, instead choosing to stop beside tables with signs announcing actual classes that he could take. There were even a couple tables showcasing some different workout classes, which he grabbed a few flyers for. If he decided to attend any of them, at least he would be able to consider it as part of his training.

Continuing down the walkway, the music he had heard when he was standing at the entrance to the building grew steadily louder. As he got closer to the booth, he spied a group of ten teenagers standing on a section of portable choral risers to the right side of the table swaying back-and-forth and singing to the instrumental sounds that were coming from a boom box. He hadn't realized how long he had been standing there, watching them perform, when a voice called to him.

"Enjoying the show?" an Asian teen sitting behind the booth asked, sending him a welcoming smile.

Blaine nodded as his eyes flickered over towards the performers again before settling on the two teenagers that were running the display. A sign was taped to their table reading _"Warblers"_ in big red letters, with the words _"Show Choir"_ printed underneath in a slightly smaller font.

"You guys aren't bad," Blaine ventured. "Is there an age range to join?"

"We are all high school students. I'm Wes, by the way," the Asian introduced himself before nodding towards the African American sitting next to him. "And that's David."

"What school do you go to?" the one named David asked.

Blaine stammered for a response for a moment. "Uhm, I'm home-schooled," he quickly settled on.

Wes sent him a smirk. "Can you sing at all?"

Blaine smiled back at the teenager. "I'm not bad," he said with a shrug.

"There are three competitions every year that we compete in; Sectionals, Regionals, and Nationals. Our first competition is coming up in a couple weeks, and we need a few more members to be eligible for it," Wes explained, reaching over to pick up one of the flyers that was lying on the table and handed it to him. "Our tryouts are tomorrow. Come by if you're interested."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

By 4:05 the next afternoon, Blaine found himself signed in and sitting in one of the plastic chairs in the choir room that was available in the community center. While many of the teens gathered together in groups, he chose to sit a little off to the side. Looking around the room, it was easy to determine who was already a member of the Warblers by the coats that they were sporting. It was the same navy blue sports coats with red trim that he remembered seeing the group wear at the fair yesterday.

Blaine was so busy people watching that he hadn't heard when someone approached him from behind.

"Hey, is this seat taken?"

Turning around, Blaine locked eyes with a beautiful chestnut haired boy with pale skin.

It took a second for Blaine to get his tongue to work and to make words come out of his mouth. "Um, no. Go ahead." He gave a small gesture towards the empty seat next to him as further consent.

"Thanks," the boy said, taking a seat and Blaine felt his stomach flip at the soft sound of his soprano voice. "Are you auditioning too?"

Blaine nodded his head before forcing his eyes to turn away from the porcelain skin boy next to him and to watch the boys in the sports coats again. "They sounded pretty good at the fair the other day."

He sensed the boy nodding his head next to him. "I've been to a few of their performances before. I've been wanting to join their team for a while."

"Why haven't you tried out before?" Blaine asked, turning back to the boy.

The kid shrugged. "There hasn't been an opportunity until now." He leaned over, nudging his arm gently. As he did so, Blaine couldn't help but stare into the boy's light blue eyes. "Usually if they have an opening, they turn to their friends first. This is the first time in a while that they have gone to the public with open auditions. I'm Kurt, by the way," he introduced himself.

"Blaine," he greeted in return before looking down at the folded up flyer that was in his hands before admitting, "This is the first time I've done anything like this."

"Done what?"

"Tried out for anything." Blaine gestured towards the boys gathered in the navy coats. "I've never joined any kind of group."

Kurt frowned at him. "You've never joined a school club before?"

Blaine shook his head. "I'm home-schooled," he explained, using the same excuse he had the other day.

"Well, good luck then," the beautiful boy sitting next to him exclaimed with a bright smile, showing off his dimples. Blaine's heart swooned at the encouragement. "What are you going to be singing?"

"Something's Coming from West Side Story."

"You like musicals?" Kurt's light blue eyes lit up at the news. "Have you seen the show on Broadway?"

Blaine shook his head. "I've seen a few musical movies, but I haven't seen any of the Broadway plays."

"Really? You live in New York City and haven't seen anything on Broadway before?"

"I just moved here a few weeks ago," he explained with a shrug, "and I've been busy with work."

The kid was about to say something else, but before he could get the words out, Wes spoke up from the front of the room.

"Okay, everyone! We're going to be getting started with the auditions in a few minutes. If anyone hasn't signed their name on our sign-up sheet, please come and do that now," Wes announced, holding up the piece of paper for everyone to see and a few people got up from their seats to approach him.

* * *

"How did the auditions go?" Izzy asked as she set her plate of scrambled eggs and bacon down on the table in front on an empty seat. Clary followed her lead, pulling out the chair next to her.

"It was okay," Blaine said around the bite of omelet that was in his mouth. He gave off a small shrug. "I made the team."

"Blaine, that's great!" Clary cheered. "How many people did you beat out?"

"They had two openings available. Maybe . . . fifteen people auditioned." He played with the food that was on his plate with his fork.

"Who was the other kid that made it?" Izzy asked.

"Kurt Hummel," Blaine answered. He couldn't help the small smile that played on his lips at the name.

He barely caught the glance the two girls shared on the other side of the table.

"Kurt, huh?" Izzy asked, an amused look in her eyes.

"You like him?"

Blaine shrugged his shoulders again. "I don't know. Maybe. But it doesn't matter anyways."

"Is he gay?" Clary chimed in, and Blaine felt his cheeks heat up a little.

He nodded slowly, remembering his beautiful soprano voice and his sense of fashion, as he stared down at his plate. "I'm pretty sure he is."

"Then what's the problem?" Izzy asked.

"He's a mundane."

"So what?" the redhead jumped in.

Blaine stared back at the two ladies sitting in front of him like they were crazy. "He doesn't know anything about our world, and I wouldn't be able to tell him about it. I don't want to be in a relationship with some guy that I would have to lie to and deceit."

By the time he finished, a sad look had entered his eyes, but before the girls could comment on it, Jace had walked over to their table.

"Hey, guys," the blonde started. "Magnus and Alec want to talk to us in the meeting room. Ten minutes?"

* * *

"Hey, Blaine," Alec greeted, as the kid stepped up next to him around the long rectangular table in the meeting room. "Have you gotten settled in at Magnus' apartment okay?"

Blaine grinned up at him. "Yeah, I'm good. Magnus has been very welcoming," he said, turning the smile in the warlock's direction by the end of the statement.

"So, what did you guys want to talk to us about?" Izzy asked as she leaned against the table.

"We have gotten a new lead on Valentine's plans," Alec explained, easily switching into business mode.

"He's still trying to locate the Mortal Mirror?"

"He wouldn't have to if he can find a way to activate the Soul-Sword," Alec answered his sister. "It looks like he's trying to take that road."

"What do you mean 'activate the Soul-Sword'," Clary questioned, looking around at the group that was gathered.

"Along with compelling people to tell the truth and recovering memories, the sword can also be used to end the lives of all the Downworlders. To do that, the sword has to be activated with a bolt of lightning," Jace explained, his arms folded across his chest.

"It doesn't necessarily have to be lightning," Magnus ventured. "Any power source could work, but it would also need to be wielded by someone with angelic energy. Dot got word to me about a conversation she overheard between Valentine and his men. He plans to use the Institute's angelic core to power the sword."

"But then he'll still need access to an angel, right?" Blaine spoke up.

"The angel Ithuriel?" Clary remembered. "Valentine has him imprisoned on his ship. He's going to use him to activate the sword."

"That's what it looks like," Alec agreed, a soft sigh leaving his lips. "And with Madzie currently under his control, they could attack the Institute at any time to get to the power core."

"Madzie?" Blaine asked, eyeing his cousin curiously.

"Madzie is a very powerful warlock child," Magnus explained, answering for his boyfriend. "She was taken from her guardian a few weeks ago, and Valentine appears to be using her for his own agenda."

"I want everyone to remain vigilant for the next couple of weeks, and report to Aldertree with any farther information," Alec advised. "We can't allow the Circle to infiltrate the Institute."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

With Sectionals only a few weeks away, Wes and David had scheduled extra rehearsal periods for the Warblers to meet up and practice.

Blaine was surprised to discover how much he was actually enjoying being apart of the show choir group. It was fun, and during the meetings the other members were always very focused on practicing. Conversations about their personal lives were few and far between, meaning he didn't have to lie about what he did outside of the group as much as he had been expecting. But things were a little different when it came to Kurt.

"That was great guys," Wes praised as the last notes to the song they had been practicing drifted off. "Let's take a five minute break, and then I'd like to run through _Teenage Dream_ a couple more times."

Stepping down off the platform, the Shadowhunter walked over towards the bag that he had left on the other side of the room and dug out his water bottle from inside.

"You did great in that last number," Kurt commented as he took a seat against the wall next to Blaine's bag. "I wouldn't be surprised if they give you a solo at some point."

Blaine shrugged. "I don't care about getting a solo."

As the days leading up to Sectionals had gone by, Blaine had found himself being continually drawn to Kurt. Unlike with most mundanes that he had met, talking with Kurt was easy and comfortable. The more he learned about the kid, the more he found himself thinking about him and wanting to be around him more.

This strong connection he felt towards the mundane scared Blaine. And yet, at the same time, made him feel weightless and warm inside. It was all so confusing and overwhelming, and he had no idea what to do about it.

"Why not?" Kurt exclaimed. "I would kill for a solo."

"I have too much going on at work right now. Background singing is all I have time for," Blaine explained, before sending the kid a small smirk. "Besides, you just admitted that you would resort to murder to get yourself a solo. I wouldn't want to find myself in the crossfires of your wrath."

Kurt simply rolled his eyes at the comment. "If they offer you one, I think you should at least consider it. You have a great voice," he commented, taking a drink from his own water bottle. "What brought you to New York anyways?"

Blaine bit his lip softly at the sudden change in topic. Pushing his bag out of the way, he took a seat next to Kurt against the wall.

"My parents kicked me out of the house," he slowly admitted after a moment of silence.

Kurt blinked at the explanation in shock. "What are you talking about? Why did they kick you out?"

Blaine let out a heavy sigh as he kept his eyes focused on the water bottle that he still cradled in his hands. "They were trying to pressure me into marrying this girl they wanted to set me up with."

"Like . . . an arrange marriage?" Kurt asked, shock coloring his face. "But you're only sixteen."

Blaine shrugged. "I wouldn't have actually had to go through with it until I am at least eighteen," he explained, playing with the labeling on his bottle.

"So . . . what? Your parents kicked you out because you told them you didn't want to marry the girl they picked out for you?"

" . . . Not exactly. They kicked me out because I told them I was gay." Blaine finally looked up at Kurt to see his reaction.

"You're–" Kurt paused, shaking his head to clear his thoughts, but Blaine noted the small smile on the kid's face. "Where are you staying now?"

"With my cousins. We have sort of a . . . family business. I was able to get a job here doing the same thing I was doing back in Ohio."

Before Kurt could question him further, the door banged up towards their right causing both Blaine and Kurt to jump in surprise, and drawing the attention of several of the Warblers. Spinning around to face the door himself, Blaine caught sight of a very panicked looking man rushing in. His blonde hair, that was usually neatly brushed straight back from his forehead, laid in a sweaty mess on top of his head. Allowing the door to slam shut behind him, the Shadowhunter stormed into the chorus room scanning the space in clear desperation.

Blaine jumped to his feet. "Jace?"

The man spun around at the sound of his name before striding straight over to the teens. "Why the hell aren't you picking up your phone?" Jace practically growled at him.

Blaine started back at him, flabbergasted by his apparent anger towards him. By now, all of the Warblers were staring in their direction, and he felt his cheeks heating up under their scrutiny.

"I turned it off for rehearsal," he managed to stutter out. "Why? What's–"

He was interrupted by the sound of the door opening again, this time in a more calmer state, allowing Luke to enter decked out in his police uniform.

Blaine let out an irritated groan at the sight. This wasn't going to be easy to explain to a room full of mundanes.

"Why is the police here?" Kurt whispered, his voice growing high-pitched as he pressed closely into Blaine's back.

"He's a family friend," the young Shadowhunter explained over his shoulder before turning to face his friend. "Can you give us a minute to talk alone?"

Kurt's eyes widened at him before swaying between the officer and the sweaty blonde standing before them. After a slight hesitation, he gave a small nod and turned to hurry in the direction of the other teens.

Facing the men in front of him, Blaine opened his mouth to try asking his question again, but Jace spoke up before he could get the words out.

"The Institute is under attack," he stated, a stern glare on his face.

Realization flooded Blaine's facial features and he folded his arms across his chest. "Valentine?"

Jace nodded.

"What's going on? Is everyone okay?"

"Alec and Aldertree are working on shutting down the power core, while Isabelle, Clary, and Magnus are inside leading the defense," Luke explained quickly. "I've already called Maia. She's working on getting the pack together to meet us there, and Clary called Simon to inform Raphael. We need to be ready outside the Institute for back-up."

Blaine nodded, turning to retrieve his bag. "Let me just let Wes know that I have to leave."

* * *

By the time Luke had pulled his car into the parking lot and turned it off the sun had sunk completely over the horizon. Turning off the vehicle, the werewolf took out his phone to check his messages.

"Maia says that her and Raphael have their people gathered in the field near the Institute," Luke noted, opening the driver's side door and slipping out of the car, signaling for Jace and Blaine to do the same, before hiding his phone back in his pocket.

"So, what's the plan?" Blaine asked, slamming his car door behind him and hurrying to catch up with the adults.

"According to Alec, Valentine has set up the sword in one of the rooms off of the lobby. Izzy is going to text me when Valentine is in position and we'll all go in together," Luke finished just as they approached the gathered Downworlders. Maia and Raphael stepped forward as they drew closer. "I'm glad you choose to fight with us. We could use all the help we can get," he said, addressing the head of the vampire clan.

"Of course. Anything to put Valentine in his place." Raphael nodded in greeting.

"I'm not going to lie. It took a little convincing to get the wolves together," Maia admitted. "Some of them aren't too keen on this idea."

"Come on," Jace interrupted their conversation, placing a hand on Blaine's shoulder as he started to step around the gathered Downworlders. "We should get everyone into position."

* * *

Clary quietly made her way down a hallway in the Institute's housing section with her seraph blade in hand, Magnus close behind her. Most of the Circle members seemed to be gathered around Aldertree's office or on the ground floor of the building, but they needed to make sure there weren't any others wandering around the structure that they weren't aware of.

"Izzy should be in place in the lobby by now," Clary commented as they paused to peek around a corner.

"I think this floor is clear," Magnus added. "Maybe we should just head down stairs now. Get ready for when Valentine decides to try and activate the Soul-Sword?"

Before Clary could respond, she caught movement out of the side of her eye and tightened her grip on her blade before realizing that it was a child.

"Madzie," the redhead confirmed, nodding in the girl's direction down the hallway. Clary turned to look at the warlock that was standing behind her. "Go get her. I'll head back down to join Izzy."

"Are you sure?"

"She's being used, Magnus," Clary pressed. "None of this is her fault, but she needs to be stopped." She waited until the warlock nodded in understanding before heading back down the way they had come.

* * *

"Izzy," Clary called as her friend came into sight.

The dark haired Shadowhunter quickly spun around and held a hand up in a 'be quiet' gesture before turning back to peek around the corner into the lobby. Only then did the low, almost painful groans reach Clary's ears and she hurried over to glance around Izzy into the room before them. What greeted her was the image of her psychotic father pulling the angel, Ithuriel, by a long chain behind him.

"We have to do something," Clary whispered urgently in Izzy's ear.

"I just texted the group outside. They should be coming in any second."

"We don't have a couple seconds," Clary stressed gesturing to the scene that was playing out in front of them.

By now, Valentine was only a few steps away from the Soul-Sword, which appeared to be encased in some kind of box. By the presence of blue electricity that was playing through the clear sides of the contraption, Alec and Aldertree had not been able to deactivate the power core.

* * *

After discussing their plans with everyone, Luke and the Shadowhunters had everyone get into formation along the side of the building to wait for the signal. They were all now waiting patiently while kneeling in the grass under the light of the full moon. Only the occasional word could be heard whispered between the Downworlders as they waited, but they were all clearly focused on the battle that lay ahead of them.

Luke stood behind the assembled group, listening closely for any sounds coming from within the structure they were hiding against but nothing could be heard from within the thick walls.

A buzzing from his pants pocket drew the werewolf leader's attention, and he quickly pulled it out to read the message from Isabelle. His eyes scanned over the words before raising his head.

"Let's move!" His voice traveled down the line and the monsters all jumped to their feet at the command. They had barely moved before they all heard Luke cry out in surprise, and they all spun around to find a member of the Circle holding a seraph blade across his neck from behind.

With a cry of protest, Maia ran with inhuman speed at the man, sending a swift kick to the attacker's shin along with a quick jab at his abdomen before shoving the enemy away once his hold on Luke had loosened.

No sooner after the first Circle member had stumbled back from his attack, two more suddenly released their glamour's. One leaped at Raphael, swinging his sword back-and-forth causing the vampire to dodge each blow with fast movements. Simon raced over to help as the three Circle members continued with their attacks and a few of the other monsters started to follow suit.

"No!" Luke cried, while dodging yet another swing from a sword. "You're needed inside! Go!"

Jace raised up his seraph blade before yelling out a battle cry. "Come on! For the Downworld!" he cheered.

Hearing the cries of agreement around him, the blonde turned and led the pack towards the front entrance, Blaine right on his heels clutching his own weapon of choice; a double-edged staff.

Rounding the corner, the group left Luke, Simon, Maia, and Raphael to deal with the three enemies behind them.

* * *

Izzy bit her lower lip nervously as she watched Valentine begin to lift the obviously weakened angel into a standing position to make it easier to force him to grab hold of the sword. Her eyes spun in the direction where their back up team was supposed to be entering from.

"Izzy . . ." she heard Clary hiss behind her.

With an annoyed sigh, Izzy reached to retrieve her stele to activate her speed rune before racing down the stairs and over towards their long-time enemy. Eyes glued to the angel Ithuriel's hand, she watched as the old man's grip wrapped loosely around the hilt of the sword just as she pushed both of the men out of the way, landing on the floor. Under the force of their momentum, the boxed contraption the sword had been resting in tipped over causing the piece of metal to slide out.

From there, everything seemed to go in slow motion. Using her arms, Izzy pushed herself up to her knees and stared down at the now glowing sword lying on the marble floor. The sounds of pounding feet were suddenly echoing against the walls, as well as the fierce battle cries of the Downworlds finally flooding into the space.

Valentine pushed himself to his feet and, staggering slightly, made his way towards the sword and lifted it over his head. Instantly, the light radiating from the blade intensified like the sun causing Izzy to have to turn away. The determined battle cries that had just seconds ago had filled the room, swiftly switched to ones of pain as the group shrunk down to their knees in terror.

By the time the light died down enough that the Shadowhunters could raise their heads again, all the Downworlders that had been in the room now laid unmoving on the ground. Scanning the area, Izzy couldn't find any trace of Valentine. It was like he had just disappeared without a sound . . . along with the Soul-Sword.

"No . . ." Clary's disheartened voice reached her ears from somewhere behind her.

A soft groan under her drew Izzy's attention. Glancing down, she spied the angel, Ithuriel, lying on his back next to her, his hands still chained in front of him.

"Clary!" she called over her shoulder to her friend as she slid closer to the fallen angel. Within seconds, the redhead was by her side and using a rune to unlock the cuffs from the angel's bound hands.

"Is he okay?"

Isabelle glanced up for a moment to see Blaine standing over them before looking back at the old man they were attending to. "He may need some medical attention, but I think he will be okay," she sighed.

Jace slowly approached the group. "Where did Valentine go? He still has the sword."

"We need to find him before he hurts any more Downworlders," Blaine added.

Footsteps behind them notified the group of Shadowhunters to someone else rushing into the room, switching to a brisk walk as all the fallen Downworlders came into the newcomer's view.

"What happened? Ithuriel–" Alec started, his voice rising at the sight before him.

"It's my fault," Izzy interrupted her brother. "I should have moved faster. I should have gotten to him before Valentine forced him to touch the sword. I–"

"Where's Magnus?" Alec's tone suddenly changed to desperation as his main focus shifted. His gaze turned to linger on Clary. "Was he inside when the sword went off?"

"I – I don't know," the redhead stuttered and shook her head. "We were patrolling the hallways in the housing unit together. We split up."

"Oh, God." The words were dripping with worry as the Shadowhunter quickly turned on his heels to head in the direction of the housing unit to start his search.

"Do you want help?"

Alec spun back at the sound of Blaine's voice, looking at him quizzically, as if the words didn't make any since to him. After a moment, he nodded his head and turned back to head down the hallway, Blaine close behind him.

* * *

That was just the start of a long night.

Izzy called for a couple medics to come and help them from the infirmary, while Jace and Clary ran outside to check on Luke and the other Downworlders that had been left outside and to do a quick check of the grounds for any sign of Valentine.

Blaine started out with helping Alec search for Magnus but had eventually gotten sidetracked when they stumbled over a couple wounded Shadowhunters in the hallways and the gel-headed teen found himself helping treat the injured instead.

After several hours of roaming the Institute and constantly bending up and down to help the wounded, Blaine's legs were starting to give out on him. He wasn't really tired, his adrenaline was still pumping too hard for that, but the muscles in his legs were begging for a few minutes of rest.

The sun was just starting to seep through the windows when Blaine returned to the lobby to find both Clary and Simon bending over someone resting on a long, cushioned bench off to one wall. Drifting closer, a familiar face came into view. The man's eyes were closed and a big bandaged was taped to his abdomen.

"Luke?" Blaine acknowledged the unconscious man. "Is he okay?"

Clary nodded slowly, a few tears glistening in her eyes, but her voice sounded strong when she spoke. "He's been sedated."

"I can't find Magnus." Blaine, Clary, and Simon turned to find a now panicking Alec striding towards them. "I can't find him anywhere."

"Then maybe he's not here," Simon ventured, trying to be helpful.

"Yeah," Clary agreed, getting to her feet so she wouldn't have to look up at Alec from her kneeled position. "Look, right before Magnus and I split up, we saw Madzie walking down the hallway. I asked him to go after her. Maybe he was able to get her out in time."

* * *

Alec rushed towards the front entrance of the Institute. His heart had been pounding in his chest ever since he learned about the Soul-Sword being activated. Losing Magnus wasn't an option. He didn't want to even consider that possibility. Every time his thoughts started to drift in that direction it felt like his heart was being squeezed in his chest and he couldn't breathe.

He had to push his way through a small crowd of Shadowhunters who were just returning from a search party to find and, to Alec's great relief, capture Valentine, but he couldn't even enjoy that moment of success yet.

Feeling the heat of the sun touch his skin, Alec stumbled his way down the stairs and into the small grassy field in front of the structure. Giving a quick scan of the surrounding area, he desperately tried to catch a glimpse of Magnus' familiar form.

He didn't know where to start looking. Surely, considering everything that had been going on last night, Magnus wouldn't have just headed back to his loft without letting him know he was okay. If the warlock _had _made it outside in time, he could be anywhere.

Someone's fingers wrapped around Alec's upper arm, and pure relief rushed through him as his eyes came to rest on his boyfriend. Alec quickly pulled the warlock close, holding him tightly and just inhaling his familiar scent. After a moment, he reluctantly pulled away to be able to look at the man's face.

"Magnus, I thought . . ." He tried to articulate the fear that had been racing through him for last several hours, but his shallow breathing was making it difficult to get his words out.

"I found Madzie," Magnus explained, giving Alec time to get his thoughts under control. "I got her out just in time. I took her to Catarina's. She's safe."

Alec nodded his approval at the warlock's words before trying again to say what he needed to. "Look . . . Magnus, on every mission I've ever been on, I've never felt that type of fear. _Ever. _Not knowing if you were alive or dead. I . . . I was terrified."

"So was I," Magnus conformed, running a ringed-hand down Alec's arm, hoping to help sooth him.

"Magnus . . . I love you."

For an agonizing few seconds, Magnus just stared back at him until a soft smile slowly appeared as the words seemed to suddenly sink in.

"I love you, too."

Alec's heart swelled with joy at the conformation. He pulled his boyfriend towards him to kiss him deeply, putting all of his fear and love into it before desperately wanting to feel the warlock's arms wrapped around him again. The second hug didn't last nearly as long as Alec had hoped.

"Magnus!"

Letting the warlock go once again, Alec turned to see Blaine practically flying down the stairs and running straight into Magnus' arms.

"You're okay!" Blaine cheered.

Magnus let out a soft chuckle at the teen's actions. "Yes, I'm fine. And everyone's okay here?" he asked, turning his now anxious eyes back to Alec.

"All the Downworlders that were inside when the Soul-Sword was activated are dead," Alec informed. "Luke is injured, but Simon, Maia, and Raphael are okay."

"And Valentine has been found and captured," Blaine added, pulling out of Magnus' arms. "Aldertree is escorting him down to the prison cells as we speak."

"What about the Soul-Sword?" Magnus questioned, switching his gaze between Blaine and his boyfriend. "Is it being returned to the Silent Brothers?"

Alec shrugged his shoulders. "I haven't heard anything about it, but Valentine had the sword last time I checked. If he's been captured, I'm sure the sword has been found too."

Blaine slowly shook his head. "That's not what I just heard."

Alec and Magnus both turned their eyes to the shorter Shadowhunter.

Blaine shrugged, his face full of regret with the news he was about to deliver. "Apparently, he didn't have the sword on him when he was found and he won't tell us where it is . . . or the Mortal Cup."

* * *

After all of the excitement of last night, Blaine still felt to fidgety to sleep. Hoping to rid himself of some of his piped up energy, he decided to go for a walk around the city to try and clear his head.

He was just approaching yet another street corner and trying to decide which direction to head in, when a voice called to him.

"Blaine?"

Glancing up, the teen let a smile grow on his face as Kurt stepped over the curb to stand in front of him.

"Hey, Kurt," Blaine greeted warmly. "What are you doing here?"

"I was just going to grab some coffee," Kurt explained, nodding in the direction of a coffee house a few doors down that Blaine didn't recognize. The sign outside the establishment read _Manhattanville Coffee_. "Do you want to join me?"

Blaine nodded. "Sure."

Entering the restaurant first, Kurt held the door open for Blaine before heading over to stand in line behind a couple customers.

"You left rehearsal in a hurry last night," Kurt commented.

Blaine sighed. "Yeah, I had a . . . family emergency."

"So, that guy that yelled at you yesterday? He was family?"

"One of my cousins, yeah."

Stepping up to the counter, Kurt ordered a Non-fat Mocha while Blaine asked for a Medium Drip. With drinks in hand, they took a seat on the tall stools that were available at a long table that stretched the length of the windows along one wall.

"So your cousin from yesterday," Kurt started after being silent for a while. "Is he someone that you work with from that 'family business' you mentioned?"

"That's right."

"What do you guys do again?" Kurt asked, scrunching his eyebrows together as he raised his coffee to his lips.

"It's sort of a . . . rehabilitation job. We help people who have been through some kind of accident or injury and help show them how to live . . . relatively normal lives. I mean, there's a little more to it than that, but . . ." Blaine shrugged, hoping Kurt wouldn't ask for farther information. He took a sip from his drink.

Kurt was quiet for another moment. "Your cousin has a lot of similar tattoos as you do," he observed.

Blaine glanced down at the rune markings on his arms. "Again, it's kind of a family thing."

Finishing off his drink, Blaine stood up from his chair and headed over to throw his cup in the trashcan by the door. He sensed Kurt getting up and following him out, his cup still in hand.

"I know there's something you're not telling me," Kurt noted as he stepped up next to Blaine, matching his stride as they walked. "You've been dodging a lot of my questions since the day we met. And that whole interaction with your cousin and the police officer yesterday–"

Blaine stopped suddenly and spun around to face Kurt. "Will you please stop?"

"I'm just trying to get to know you, Blaine. I like you and . . ."

Picking up on Kurt's obvious discomfort as the acknowledgement slipped out, Blaine hesitated before asking slowly, "You like me?"

Kurt nodded his head slightly. "Yeah . . . I like hanging out with you Blaine, and I want to get to know you more, but if you keep hiding things from me . . . I just–"

Blaine reached out to take Kurt's hand in his, the one that wasn't holding his cup of coffee, and looked into the boy's light blue eyes. "I really like you too, Kurt," he smirked at him. The mundane grinned back, causing butterflies to flutter in Blaine's stomach and his smile faltered as he looked down at their interlocking hands. "But . . . there are some things about my life that I'm not allowed to talk about. Things that could put you in harm's way."

Kurt frowned. "This doesn't have anything to do with the tattoos, does it? I mean, you're not part of some kind of cult or gang or something, are you?"

Blaine let out a soft chuckle. "Yes, the tattoos have something to do with it, but it's nothing like that." He sighed, allowing a more neutral expression to seep onto his face. "Look, I really would like to be able to spend more time with you, Kurt, but if I agree to that, I need to know that you can respect my privacy about some things."

Kurt let out a breath as he looked down at their hands that were tangled together and squeezed lightly. "I guess I can do that."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

With David proudly carrying their group's first place trophy off the stage, the Warblers whooped and hollered their way backstage. Happiness was streaking through Blaine like a comet and he couldn't stop smiling.

"We won!" Kurt cheered as he walked off stage next to Blaine, lightly brushing his fingers against the back of his hand. "That was amazing! I can't believe we're going to Regionals!"

"Of course we are! All that practicing we put in had to come out to something," Blaine said, bravely intertwining their fingers together and grinned as Kurt's cheeks turned pink at the action. "You know, I heard Wes say that he and David were going to treat everyone to ice cream at _Ben & Jerry's_ if we won. You want to go?"

"Actually . . ." Kurt drawled out the word, sounding slightly nervous as he pulled Blaine a few feet away from the rest of their group who were currently gathering around David so they could admire their huge prize. "I was hoping we could do something else tonight. Just the two of us?"

"_'Just the two of us'_? You mean . . . like a date?" At the boy's shy nod, Blaine sent him a smirk and gave the hand he was still holding a small squeeze in encouragement. "What did you have in mind?"

"I got us tickets to see _West Side Story_ on Broadway."

"Really?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You auditioned with one of their songs," Kurt reminded him with a shrug. "And you said that you had never seen anything on Broadway before, so . . ."

"I'd love to go with you," Blaine admitted rubbing his thumb over the back of Kurt's hand. "What time does the show start?"

"At seven tonight," Kurt informed and Blaine pulled out his phone to check the current time.

"I have a meeting at the Institute that I have to go to, but I should be done in time," he explained, slipping the device back into his pocket. "Do you want to just meet outside the theater around six thirty?"

* * *

"There was a demon attack at one of the restaurants not too far from here," Luke informed Magnus and the Shadowhunters who were gathered around the table.

"I've never seen a demon cause this kind of hemorrhaging," Jace acknowledged as he flipped through some of the paperwork from the mundanes' autopsies.

Alec scanned the table in front of him that was covered with papers and other evidence. "There wasn't any security footage?"

"Not inside the bar," Luke explained, leaning over the table. "Other officers are checking the street cameras, looking for anything suspicious. Maybe we'll get lucky." He shrugged, but he didn't look very happy about the possibility.

"I don't understand," Clary said, looking over Jace's shoulder at the paperwork. "How can a demon cause _this _kind of damage?"

"A Greater Demon can," Blaine spoke up next to Magnus, who was busy examining a small bag of sand that was labeled as part of the evidence. "Lesser Demons are fairly common, but Greater Demons are a different story. They have names . . . their own personalities. They're more powerful and a lot harder to stop than others. They're also incredibly rare. If one is showing its face now, there's got to be a reason."

"This isn't good," Magnus mumbled to himself, still studying the bag in his hands.

"Magnus?" Alec asked, waiting for him to continue.

"This sand," the warlock continued as he glanced up at his boyfriend across the table and waved the bag a little in the air. "It's from Duduael."

"Duduael?" Izzy asked, tilting her head to one side. "Isn't that a dimension of Hell?"

"One of the worst," Magnus answered, before turning to Luke. "Did you find this on their faces?" When the werewolf nodded in confirmation, Magnus turned back to look at Alec. "A Greater Demon of the name Azazel has been imprisoned in the deserts of Duduael for centuries. How did he get loose?" The last part was spoken more to himself than to the others.

"It also doesn't explain what he is doing _here_," Blaine said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"We don't need to know _why_. We just need to prevent him from hurting anybody else," Alec said, thinking out loud. "If we could somehow lure him to us, then we could take care of the situation."

"Lure him with what?" Izzy asked, drumming her fingers against the table.

"The Mortal Cup."

Izzy, Jace, and Clary stared at Alec in confusion.

"How would that drag Azazel out of hiding?" Clary asked, after a moment of silence.

"Part of the Cup's power is to provide some protection from demons," Jace stated slowly, starting to see were Alec's plans were coming from. "Knowing that he could get possession of the Cup and being able to destroy it himself . . . Alec's right. It could be enough to draw him out."

"Sounds great," Izzy noted. "But we still don't know where the Cup _is_."

"But we _do_ have Valentine," Alec informed. "If we can convince Azazel to come to us instead of trying to track him down . . . This could save us a lot of time."

"Okay." Clary nodded slowly. "So how do we get him here?"

"Leave that to me." Magnus smirked, tossing the bag of sand back onto the table.

* * *

"Is the courtyard glamoured?" Alec asked, as Izzy checked Valentine's chains again to make sure he was secure.

"No one is going to be able to see us up here," Magnus insisted, putting the last finishing touches on the pentagram he was drawing on the ground before getting back to his feet.

"The security cameras in Valentine's cell are down, but it probably won't take long for someone to realize something is wrong," Jace informed, stepping outside with Clary close on his heels.

"Are we keeping you from something?" the warlock asked, eyeing Blaine who was checking his phone for the fifth time in the last couple minutes.

"Sorry," the young Shadowhunter stated sheepishly, storing the device back in his pocket. "It's just . . . I sort of made plans for tonight." Seeing the warlock raising an eyebrow at him, Blaine sighed. "You know that kid I told you about from Glee club; Kurt Hummel? He asked me out for a date tonight."

"You have a date?" Izzy gushed, a huge smile growing on her face and Blaine felt his cheeks heat up. "Where is he taking you?"

"He got us tickets to see a play."

Magnus rubbed his hands together in an attempt to get the black chalk off his fingers. "What time does the show start?"

"At seven," Blaine explained. "But I told him I would try to meet him earlier."

"Well, we wouldn't want to keep your date waiting," Jace chided with a slight sound of sarcasm in his voice. "Come on, we don't have much time before we'll be caught out here."

Magnus, Alec, Blaine, Jace and Clary each stood at one of the points of the drawn star outside of the circle, while Isabelle stood guard next to Valentine just a few feet away.

"Dico potentiam Pentagram." As Magnus recited the spell in Latin, he waved his hands in front of him. The different lines in the star drawing started to glow one at a time as he continued. "Et emittat meum et vocavi te. Ex infra regnum nostrum, in hoc mystico alligatum meum et vocavi te. Pro mortalibus Calicem mundanes volumus salutem. Ad hanc commutationem meum et vocavi te."

Reaching the end of his chant, the pentagram lit up with fire causing everyone to have to back up a step from the heat. As suddenly as the blaze had sprung up, it drifted down again to reveal a man in a dark suit standing in the middle of the pentagram.

All four Shadowhunters that were gathered around the pentagram reached for their weapons that were secured on their bodies, preparing for the possibility of the demon breaking through the barrier.

Turning slowly around to take in the group of people that had summoned his appearance, Azazel paused as his eyes landed on the warlock.

"Well . . . if it isn't Magnus Bane," the demon taunted. "Brave move."

"Leave New York," Magnus advised as he held his arms out in front of him like he was hugging a big tree, doing his best to hold the outskirts of the circle in place to keep Azazel inside, "and we'll hand over Valentine. He can lead you to the Mortal Cup."

The Greater Demon turn his head again, this time coming to rest on the man standing next to Izzy.

"Valentine Morgenstern," the demon almost hummed as he studied the muffled and chained man before him. "It is a tempting offer–"

With Azazel's attention diverted, Alec had pulled his seraph blade out of his holster that was attached to his waist and had prepared to swing it at the demon when the man had suddenly stopped talking. The next second, Azazel threw his arms back, causing Magnus and all of the Shadowhunters to fly back and land a few feet away from the circle.

"You thought you could kill me?!" the Greater Demon roared as he spun around to glare at Alec and an intense pain rang through their heads resulting in everyone screaming out in pain.

"Ahh!" Blaine heard Alec scream out to his left. "Magnus! Stop him!"

Blaine's hands clawed at his head and he gritted his teeth against the pain. No headache had ever felt like this. Sharp, jabbing, electric shocks were piercing through his head. Letting out painful groans and gasps, he prayed that Magnus was working on something to stop the horrible experience.

Trying to lift his head felt like a huge weight was lying across his forehead and a strong sense of vertigo took over. Rolling over onto his side instead, Blaine forced his eyes to open despite the dizziness his throbbing head was causing and watched as Azazel knelt down in front of Magnus. The man simply ran his fingers down the warlock's cheek, before standing up and heading over to where he figured Isabelle and Valentine had landed on the patio.

Around him, Blaine could still hear his family and friends screaming and groaning in agony. All he could think about was the intense pain growing in his head . . . and suddenly it was gone.

Soft gasps and sighs of relief replaced the painful cries, and slowly the group started to sit up to check on each other.

"Is everyone okay?" Jace called out around the group and was greeted with groans of confirmation from the other Shadowhunters.

"Where's the demon?" the redhead asked.

Blinking away the rest of his dizziness, Blaine took a look around his environment.

Clary was right. Azazel was gone.

Ignoring this fact for the moment, Alec pushed himself to his feet and stumbled slightly as he made his way over to where his boyfriend had landed.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked, helping the warlock to his feet. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I . . . I think so," Magnus said, dusting off his clothes and Alec turned to offer Blaine a hand up as Jace and Clary helped Izzy get Valentine to his feet. The ex-Shadowhunter was busy mumbling something that sounded like 'Help me' behind the muffle that covered most of his face, but no one paid him any mind.

"You're not going to be too late for your date with Kurt, are you?" Alec asked as he walked Blaine and Magnus towards the exit of the Institute.

Blaine dug out his phone to check the time, yet again. "I think I'll make it," he said. "Cutting it pretty close though."

"You're being really quiet," Alec observed, resting a hand on Magnus' back as they walked down the short hallway right in front of the exit. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine," the warlock insisted, brushing Alec's hand off of him and taking a few steps ahead of the Shadowhunters. Blaine could sense his cousin's confusion at his boyfriend's actions. "Just a little tired. Nothing a good night's sleep won't fix."

"I could come back to the loft with you if–"

"No!" Magnus snapped as he turned back to face them, causing both Alec and Blaine to stare at him in bewilderment. "No," he tried again, calmer this time. "It's okay. I'll . . . call you in the morning." He then spun back around and strolled out the door.

Blaine frowned at the closed door before turning to look at his cousin's worried expression. "Just give him some space," he hesitantly responded, gesturing with his hands as he continued. "He did have a rough night with . . . everything."

"Yeah . . ." Alec sighed, looking down at Blaine. "Can you check on him when you get back from your date for me? If he needs someone to talk to or . . . anything–"

"I'll make sure he's okay," Blaine promised, and with a nod in thanks, Alec turned to make his way back to his room.

"Blaine!" someone called out behind him before he could take more than a couple steps towards the exit himself. Turning back around, he saw Isabelle hurrying over to him.

"Izzy?" Blaine frowned at her. "I can't talk right now. I'm going to–"

"I know," she said, coming to a stop in front of him. "I just wanted to give you something before you left."

"What?" he asked, shaking his head slightly in annoyance.

Ignoring the tone, the woman motioned towards his hand. "Give me your wrist."

Still frowning in confusion, the young Shadowhunter complied and watched as his cousin fastened a leather strap around his wrist.

"A watch?" he asked, bewildered.

"A special watch." She smirked at him before pointing out the six tiny, dark red rubies that were placed symmetrically around the outside of the clock's face. "These are similar to the ruby in my necklace," she explained, tapping the stone that had been replaced around her neck after the summoning.

Blaine blinked as understanding sank in. "The demon locator?" His eyes flashed back down to his new watch. "You got it to work?"

"Sure did," she said with a huge grin. "You said you wanted one, so . . ."

"Thanks, Izzy!"

"Of course, now go," the dark-haired woman snapped gently, spinning him around to face the door again. "And I want to hear all about this date of yours tomorrow."

* * *

"Kurt!" Blaine called as he approached and smiled as the boy turned to meet his eyes. "Sorry, am I late? The meeting ran longer than I expected."

The mundane sent a smile back to him. "Nope. We still have time to get to our seats before the show starts. Come on!" With that, Kurt took hold of Blaine's hand and pulled him inside the building behind him.

After showing the tickets he had bought to the man just inside the door, Kurt led Blaine up a staircase to one of the higher floors and turned to head down the hallway. They walked past several double doors that appeared to be entrances to what Blaine assumed was the theater room.

"I assume you know where you're going?" he asked suspiciously.

Kurt nodded confidently before pointing out the signs outside the doors he was passing. Each one showed a letter along with numbers underneath.

"Our seat numbers are printed on the tickets," the chestnut-haired boy explained and continued walking, passing a few other people along the way. "We're almost there."

Eventually, Kurt stopped at a pair of doors and pushed them open to reveal the huge theatre room within. The instrumental music that was playing suddenly reached Blaine's ears that he instantly recognized from the movie that he had seen years ago.

Kurt handed their tickets over to the usher standing nearby who was dressed in a black vest with the name of the theater imprinted on it along with a nametag, which Blaine didn't bother to pay attention to.

He allowed Kurt to lead him down the few stairs in front of them until he was told to squeeze past a couple people's knees to finally come to rest in their apparently assigned seats, but he barely took notice of any of that. He was too busy gawking at the red and yellow atmosphere that he had just found himself in. Everything looked so extravagant and expensive, and the huge chandelier that was attached to the ceiling high above them really pulled the whole effect together.

"This place is amazing, Kurt," Blaine gushed, taking in the view from the balcony.

Kurt tilted his head to one side as he studied Blaine's face. "You _really_ haven't been to a theater before?"

Finally looking away from the stage, Blaine shook his head. "I grew up in a suburban neighborhood in Ohio, and my family was usually focused on working so we didn't travel much." He shrugged. "I didn't get to do a lot of stuff like this growing up."

"I love musicals," Kurt admitted. "My mom took me to my first show when I was six."

"Yeah, what did you see?"

"_Aladdin_."

"I'd love to meet her some time." Blaine waited to hear a response from Kurt, but none came and he turned to see a dejected look on the boy's face. "Are you okay?"

Kurt nodded quickly. "My mom died when I was eight. Cancer."

Blaine's eyes widen in surprise. "Kurt . . . I'm sorry, I–"

The mundane shook his head. "It's fine. You didn't know," he reassured, and gave a small shrug. "It's been just me and my dad ever since. How did your meeting go at work?" he asked, obviously hoping to change the subject.

"Fine," Blaine said, turning back to look off the balcony. "We haven't really found a way to fix the problem that the meeting was supposed to solve."

The lights in the auditorium slowly darkened, signaling that the show was about to begin and Blaine leaned back in his seat, making himself comfortable just as the curtains started to pull back, revealing the hidden props and cast members behind it.

* * *

"I had a lot of fun tonight, Kurt. Thanks for this," Blaine said as the mundane walked him inside the apartment building he had been staying in.

"Of course. Maybe we could do something like this again sometime?" Kurt asked, a hopeful smile on his face and Blaine nodded.

"I'd like that." The Shadowhunter came to a stop in front of the door that led into Magnus' loft and turned back to look at Kurt.

From this distance, Kurt's light blue eyes seemed to sparkle in the low-lighted hallway and Blaine felt his heart skip a beat as the boy took his hand and squeezed it gently.

"So . . . I guess I'll see you on Tuesday? At our next Warbler meeting?"

Blaine nodded, and gave him a soft smile. "Yeah, I'll see you then."

Kurt turned to leave, but before he could Blaine reached to grab his wrist lightly causing the boy to look back in puzzlement. Pulling him closer, Blaine placed a hand on Kurt's cheek, allowing his fingers to wrap around to the back of the kid's neck feeling the soft skin underneath his touch.

Not giving himself time to lose his nerve, the young Shadowhunter leaned forward to close the distance between them until his lips pressed softly against Kurt's. The kiss was warm and gentle, and Blaine felt butterflies fluttering in his stomach as Kurt brought his arms up to snake around the back of his neck, holding him in place.

A few minutes later, Kurt was turning the corner down the hallway, leaving Blaine with a happy smile on his face. Still feeling the lingering pressure of the mundane's lips on his, Blaine reached inside his jacket pocket and pulled out his keys and let himself into the loft.

Magnus was sitting on the couch with a glass of vodka in his hand when he entered, which wasn't that surprising. What did shock Blaine was the warlock's physical appearance. His hair was no longer spiked in a mohawk fashion on top of his head but laid with a part to one side. The dark nail polish had been scrubbed off of his fingers, and his face was cleared of all make-up. Even his rings, necklaces, and ear cuff were missing.

Hearing the door close and footsteps approaching, Magnus had jumped up from his seat, nearly dropping his wine glass in the process.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" the warlock shrieked, reaching out with his hand that wasn't clutching the glass as if he was about to throw magic in the teen's direction. "How did you get in?!"

Startled by the man's guarded position, Blaine put his hands up in a gesture of surrender with his palms facing out. "Wow, relax Magnus. It's me. I live here, remember? The spare bedroom?" he explained gently, nodding in the direction of the guest room as he took a couple tentative steps farther into the loft. Seeing Magnus visually relax his protective stance, Blaine lowered his hands back to his sides. "Are you . . . feeling okay? I know it's been quite a night for you."

"Fine," Magnus waved him off as he sat back down, placing the glass on the side table next to the couch. "Just tired. It's been a long afternoon."

Blaine nodded slowly as he gazed at the warlock.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked hesitantly. Blaine was exhausted from winning Sectionals, dealing with the Greater Demon, and his late night out with Kurt, but he didn't feel comfortable leaving the warlock out here alone like this. "Or maybe you should call Alec? I'm sure he wouldn't mind coming over this late."

"I said I'm fine!" Magnus snapped at him and Blaine jumped back in surprise. "Just leave me alone."

With one last concerned look, Blaine did as the warlock asked and retreated to his room to give the man some space for the night.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Blaine woke up the next morning to the sound of glass breaking out in the hallway. With a yawn, he sat up in bed and stretched out his sore muscles before hearing another loud crash.

"Magnus?" Blaine called out, studying the door to his room in concern. "Magnus? Are you okay?"

A muffled reply came from the other side of the closed door, followed by the sound of footsteps heading in the direction of the living room.

Frowning, Blaine checked the clock that sat on his bedside table. It was still a little early for him to head off to the Institute, but after last night he figured he should probably take some time to talk to his roommate and make sure he was alright. With that thought in mind, the young Shadowhunter tossed the covers off of him and got up to pull on some clothes.

Blaine was just lacing up his sneakers when he could have sworn he heard another voice in the loft talking to Magnus. It didn't sound like Alec, and he hadn't heard a knock at the front door anyways. Maybe another warlock had portaled into the apartment?

Curious, Blaine pushed himself to his feet and made his way over to his bedroom door to lean his ear against the surface.

"You'll have to switch me back first," he heard Magnus' voice from the other side. "The Cup is in a place where any demon-blooded intruder will be killed on sight."

"I have immense faith in your ability to defy the odds," a second voice spoke up, and Blaine's eyes widened in surprise. He recognized the voice immediately. It was the Greater Demon they had been trying to vanquish just the other day; Azazel.

"I don't bargain with demons," came the warlock's heated reply, which was followed by Magnus gasping and grunting in pain.

Panicked, Blaine reached for the doorknob and was about to rush out to help his friend when the next words out of the demon's mouth made him pause.

"Give me the Cup . . . or you will die a filthy warlock."

Blaine felt his pulse rising under his skin. What did he mean by '_or_ you will die as a warlock'? And how would Magnus know where the Mortal Cup was anyways? As far as he knew, Valentine was the only one that knew where the instrument was. Why was he threatening Magnus for it?

"Okay! Okay!" Blaine heard Magnus beg from the other side of the door. "I'll get you the Cup. Just make it stop!" And the painful cries were quickly replaced by sighs of relief.

"Wise choice," Azazel commented.

Almost a minute passed with Blaine standing frozen by his bedroom door. Holding his breath, he waited to hear any farther sounds from the living room. Eventually, he heard a whooshing sound coming from somewhere on the other side. As quietly as he could, Blaine turned the handle on the door and pushed it open an inch to peek out.

The first thing Blaine noticed was Azazel standing with his back to him, leaning against the wall just a few feet away. Looking past the demon, and farther into the living room, he spied the back of Magnus' form; his hair still flattened against his scalp. With the palm of his hand facing out in front of him, he waved his arm in circle causing the whooshing sounds Blaine had heard. Seeming to get frustrated with his inability to perform the task he was presented with, the warlock clapped his hands together as if that would somehow jump-start his magic.

"You hid the Cup in this . . . other realm, and now you don't know how to portal there?" the demon asked, growing frustrated himself.

"I'm not a goddamn warlock," the man exclaimed, spinning around to face Azazel. "I don't know what I'm doing. If you want to create a portal, let's get a real one."

"So you can use them to switch you back and escape this mess?" Azazel taunted. "I don't think so."

Magnus took a couple steps closer to the Greater Demon before asking inquiringly, "And once I give you the Cup?"

"I'll reward your kindness by delivering you into a body that you deserve. One that is not locked up in a Shadowhunter's prison."

Magnus looked like he wanted to say something else but was interrupted by the sound of his cell phone going off. Reaching to pull it out of his jacket pocket, the demon looked over to check the ID with him.

"Get rid of him," Azazel growled before turning and walking into Magnus' home office, and Blaine quickly pulled his bedroom door towards him to hide behind, careful not to make any noise in the process.

"What the hell . . . ?" the young Shadowhunter muttered to himself, knitting his eyebrows in confusion over the conversation that he had just overheard.

Pressing his ear to the door again, Blaine listened to Magnus' side of the phone call before hearing the man hang up and footsteps leading in the direction of the office, the soft sound of the door closing shortly after.

With the living room now clear, Blaine slowly pushed the door open again. He could hear a mumbled conversation going on in the room next to his, but he couldn't make out anything through the wall.

Whatever was going on between Magnus and Azazel, he was going to need help putting the pieces together.

Hating to be caught for spying now, Blaine took out his stele and activated his silence rune before stepping out, closing his bedroom door behind him. The teen then made a beeline for the front door and hurried down the hallway to the exit. He needed to get to the Institute to warn Alec.

* * *

"Izzy!" Blaine called, running over to his cousin who was studying some photos that were displayed on one of the Institute's many screens. "Have you seen Alec? I really need to talk to him."

The woman shook her head. "He was here earlier, but he rushed off somewhere about twenty minutes ago. I don't know where he went."

"Are you sure? It's important."

Isabelle tilted her head to one side and folded her arms across her chest. "Is everything okay? You're acting fidgety."

"It's Magnus," Blaine admitted. "I'm worried about him. He wasn't acting like himself when I got back to the apartment last night, and this morning I overheard him having a conversation with Azazel."

Isabelle blinked in surprise, letting her arms fall back to her sides. "What?"

"Azazel was at the loft this morning," he explained. "I heard most of their conversation. It was . . . _weird_. They weren't really making a lot of sense."

"Alec said he was going to call Magnus right before he ran off. Maybe he went to check on him?" Izzy said, thinking out loud as she pulled out her phone. "Hang on a second," she added, taking a few steps away from Blaine for privacy before placing the device to her ear.

After a few minutes of anxiously switching his weight from one foot to the other, Isabelle finally walked back over.

"He did go to Magnus'," she explained as she returned her phone to her pocket. "Azazel was still there when he showed up. Alec banished him with an arrow." The last part she added with a smirk.

"Well, that solves one problem," Blaine noted. "Is he on his way back now?"

His cousin nodded. "He'll be back soon. In the meantime, could you help me with this?" she asked, turning back to the huge screen she had been staring at when he had first approached her.

For the next thirty minutes, Blaine helped Izzy sort through a file of images from the crime scene at the restaurant where Azazel had attacked his victims just a couple days ago.

"Hey, Izzy. How is it going?" Jace asked, coming over to check on their progress with organizing the evidence.

"Almost done," Izzy replied, typing away at the keyboard.

"Have you seen Alec lately?" Blaine asked, looking over at the blonde. "He should be back by now."

"Yeah, I just saw him talking to Aldertree," Jace nodded, gesturing behind him. "Something about Valentine? I don't know. I didn't catch much, but I think Alec is heading down to the prison cells."

* * *

As the elevator doors slid open, Blaine could clearly hear Alec yelling from Valentine's cell and the teen hurried down the walkway in the direction of the shouts.

"Oh, Alexander! Thank god you're here. You have to listen to me."

"No, _you _listen to me!" Alec yelled back. "This sick game of yours is over."

"It's not a game," came Valentine's voice again, sounding desperate. "I know it sounds crazy, but I'm not Valentine. I am Magnus." Blaine froze a few feet from the open cell door at the words, breathing slowly as he listened to their long-time enemy continue. "Azazel switched us with a curse. _Unum ad Unum_ . . ."

"You're insane," Alec stressed, but Valentine didn't give up.

Finding the use of his legs again, Blaine slowly took the last few steps towards the open doorway as Valentine proceeded in trying to convince Alec of his supposed predicament. Coming into view, Blaine saw Valentine with his back pressed against the wall while Alec held him there with both of his hands.

"You gave me that Omamori charm that I have carried with me ever since. It was after our night in Tokyo." With pleading eyes, Valentine stared back at Alec, gripping the man's upper arm as he tried to defend his case but Alec fought him off. Taking a step back, Alec left one hand placed on the ex-Shadowhunter's chest to keep him pressed against the wall, but this action didn't teeter Valentine. "We were at the Palace Hotel . . . and we kissed on the terrace. And then you–"

"Stop!" Alec insisted.

"And then you took me to–" the man tried again, but Alec wouldn't have it.

"STOP!" he yelled louder, his voice vibrating off the walls. Taking a shaky step back, Alec kept his arm out in front him as if to ward him off. "How do you know these things?" he stuttered out.

"Because . . . it's me, Alexander," Valentine begged. From his place in the doorway, Blaine could see the man's chin quivering and the fear in his eyes. The prisoner took a small step towards Alec as he kept going. "The day of Valentine's massacre, you told me that you loved me. So if you love me . . . please. Please, you have to believe me."

A long stretch of silence followed this confirmation. With Alec's back facing him, Blaine couldn't tell if his cousin believed anything that he was being told or not. Parts of the conversation that Blaine had overheard between Magnus and Azazel that morning drifted back into his mind. They had said something about a switch, didn't they?

Breaking the silence, Valentine took another step closer to Alec as he reached out for him. "Alexander . . ." The word came out of his mouth pleadingly, but Alec wasn't ready to hear it and shoved the man away from him; hard.

"Alec, wait!" Blaine screeched and quickly stepped into the cell before his cousin could do anything else that he may regret later, and both pairs of eyes turned to gawk at him. Blaine settled his eyes on Valentine's form, staring back at the man in shock and slight confusion as the pieces started to come together in his head. "I – I think he's telling the truth."

"Blaine–"

"You just got back from Magnus' place, right?" Blaine spat out, turning a glaring look onto his cousin. "Come on, Alec. Magnus has changed his whole appearance. You had to have noticed something was wrong with him." He paused, flickering his eyes towards Valentine before turning back. "Azazel was at the apartment this morning when I got up, and I overheard their conversation . . . It didn't really make a lot of sense at the time, but now . . ." He let the sentence hang as his eyes drifted once again to the older man standing in front of him. A look of relief filled the man's face at the thought that someone was finally listening to him.

"What did you hear?" Alec asked, still sounding slightly skeptical.

"Azazel kept asking him about the Mortal Cup," Blaine explained. "He wanted Magnus to portal him to it."

Alec frowned, crossing his arms. "But Magnus doesn't know where it is. He would have said something to _us_ by now if he knew."

"I know," Blaine agreed. "That confused me at first too, but it would make sense as to why the demon had them switched. Valentine is the only one that knows where the Cup is . . . and he needs a warlock to portal him to it. By switching them, not only does Azazel get both Valentine and a warlock, but it also gives Azazel leverage over him. A reason to do what he asks so he would switch them back."

"That _could_ also explain why 'Magnus' asked me _not_ to banish Azazel when I went over there," Alec added thinking out loud, though by the look on his face he wasn't entirely convinced yet. "Valentine would probably feel like I ruined his best chance at getting out of a Downworlder's body. You know how much he hates them. He probably wouldn't want to be trapped inside a warlock for any longer than he has to be." Alec sighed, shaking his head over the idea. "Look, just because Azazel went to Magnus asking about the Cup doesn't prove anything. That could very easily have just been the demon hoping someone could help him get it."

Blaine shook his head slowly. "I don't think so. Before I left, 'Magnus' seemed to be having issues accessing his magic. He was trying to create a portal . . . and he couldn't. When Azazel questioned him about it, he said he _'wasn't a goddamn warlock' _and that they should _'get a real one'_."

Alec let out a heavy sigh before a voice spoke up to his left.

"I'm not exactly enjoying this experience myself," 'Valentine' groaned. "This agony rune has been Hell."

Alec glanced over at the man with concern at that, which caused a warm feeling to build inside Blaine. It looked like his cousin maybe coming around to the idea.

"_If_ this is really happening, do you know how we can get the two of you switched back?" Alec asked 'Valentine'.

'Valentine' turned his eyes away for a moment as he thought about it. "I think there is a potion in my spell book back at the loft that would work," he said after a moment and locked eyes with Alec. "You will have to get it for me and all the ingredients that I'll need. Everything should be in my office."

"Fine," Alec nodded, and started to head for the cell door. "I'll head back to the loft to get everything you need. Blaine, you stay here and make sure Aldertree doesn't come back down to torture him in the meantime."

"And Valentine, too."

Alec spun back around to face the older man. "What?"

"We both need to be in the same room for the potion to work. You'll need to bring him here too," the ex-Shadowhunter explained.

"Maybe I should come with you and help," Blaine said, turning to look up at his cousin.

Alec shook his head. "We can't risk Magnus getting tortured anymore. Besides, it shouldn't be hard to convince him to come with me. He's going to want out of the warlock's body just as badly as he wants out," he said, gesturing towards the other man in the room.

"Out of the Downworlder's body, sure," Blaine agreed. "But do you really think he's going to agree to come with you willingly when you tell him you are going to put him back inside his body that is currently trapped inside a jail cell being tortured? You go to him with that information, he's going to try to negotiate something with you to help guarantee he gets out of here as well." He gestured around the room as farther explanation.

Alec sighed as what Blaine was saying sank in. "Fine, but someone should still stay here with him," he said, gesturing towards 'Valentine' again. "I'll find Jace and try to convince him to come with me. You stay here."

With a nod of conformation from Blaine, Alec turned and strolled out of the cell, leaving the door opened behind him.

* * *

Alec watched the red numbers increase on the screen to the right of the elevator door as the box took him up towards the main floor. Convincing Jace that he wasn't going crazy was going to take a little work, and he wasn't looking forward to seeing the look of concern for his sanity on his adopted brother's face when he explained all of this to him.

The elevator slowed to a stop at his floor, making a soft ping sound as the doors slid open allowing Alec to walk through.

"Hey," a voice spoke up, and Alec looked up in time to see Jace walking around the corner.

"Hey," Alec sighed, reaching out to touch his shoulder to stop him as he tried to walk past. "I need to talk to you about something."

"Yeah?" the blonde stopped his stride to turn and face his brother. "Izzy told me you banished Azazel? Congratulations."

"Yeah," Alec breathed out, before turning to the topic that he wasn't looking forward to discussing. "Look, this is going to sound crazy, but I was just with Valentine and he says . . . he says that he's Magnus. That Azazel switched him with some kind of demonic curse."

Just as expected, Jace shook his head in disbelief, an amused smile playing on his lips. "What?"

"I know how it sounds," Alec pressed, keeping his voice low so that others close by couldn't hear what they were talking about. As he went on, Jace's face morphed into a more serious look. "It's just . . . he knew things about trips we've been on together and gifts we have given each other. He even knew about the first time we said 'I love you'."

"Okay," Jace said. "Well, could a warlock have stolen your memories?"

Alec quickly shook his head at the accusation. "No, that's not possible. I would have noticed something like that."

"Okay, well . . ." Jace paused as a larger group of people started to walk by and ushered Alec towards one side of the hallway. Lowering his voice, Jace gently scolded him for going along with Valentine's wild stories and Alec rolled his eyes as he was berated. "Just remember that this is Valentine. He's always planning his next move. Alec–"

"I know, okay, but this isn't just about what Valentine said," Alec snapped, interrupting his brother before lowering his tone again. "I called Magnus this morning and I could tell that something was off. He didn't sound like himself. And when I went over to check on him . . . he didn't look right. No make-up, his hair wasn't styled, no jewelry . . . Something _is_ wrong with him, Jace. Really wrong, and–"

"Look, I agree, that does all sound concerning," Jace acknowledged with a small shake of his head. "But come on Alec . . . Switched? I mean–"

"Blaine overheard a conversation between Azazel and Magnus this morning," Alec tried again, a pleading look in his eyes as he stared back at his parabatai. "I know how this sounds, Jace. Believe me, but it looks like something _really_ is going on here." He paused for a moment, trying to determine rather or not he was convincing the man that was standing in front of him. "They are torturing him, Jace. Please, I could really use your help getting them switched back."

A few agonizing seconds past as Jace took in everything his brother had told him, before letting out a resigning sigh. "You have a plan?"

Alec sent him a thankful smile. "We need to pick up a few things at Magnus' apartment," he said, placing a hand on his parabatai's shoulder and steering them in the direction of the exit. "Come on, I'll explain the plan on the way."

* * *

Blaine closed the door that Alec had left opened before walking over to the pathetic excuse for a bed that was placed against the opposite wall of the jail cell and sat down cross-legged on the thin mattress.

"Good thing you have a roommate now, huh?" Blaine noted with a small smirk, patting the space next to him in a silent invitation for the older man to take a seat. "It probably would have taken you longer to convince Alec, or anyone else for that matter, on what was going on otherwise."

'Valentine' sighed, as he sat down. "Yes, thank you. I don't know how much more of this agony rune I would have been able to take." Glancing up at the young Shadowhunter sitting next to him, the man frowned at the look on the kid's face. "What?"

"Nothing . . ." Blaine quickly shook his head. "This is just so weird. I mean, I know it's _you_ in there, but . . ."

"Trust me, this whole thing is weirder for me. Like I'm wearing someone else skin." 'Valentine' shivered at the eerie comparison before his eyes grew round as he remembered something. "Hey, how was your date last night? Kurt, was it?"

A huge grin grew on Blaine's face at the memory. "Kurt, yeah. It was nice." Blaine spent the next several minutes laying out all the details of his big first date with the mundane. "He walked me home afterwards," he said, finishing up his story. "Got my first kiss out of it."

'Valentine' smiled back at him. "I'm happy for you. You deserve this after everything that has happened with your parents. Are you going to go out with him again?"

Blaine nodded slowly. "I hope so. I want too."

The sound of the door swinging open caused both of them to tense up and spin around to find Aldertree stepping into the cell. Five other Shadowhunters followed him in, flanking the Head of the Institute on all sides like bodyguards.

"Blaine?" Aldertree sent him a confessed expression. "What are you doing in here?"

Blaine sensed 'Valentine' shrinking in on himself at the sight of the stele in the newcomer's hand, which only confirmed to the teenager that this was the group of Shadowhunters that had been torturing the man for the last eighteen hours or so. Jumping to his feet, Blaine stepped in front of 'Valentine' who was still sitting stiffly on the thin mattress. With his hands balled into fists at his sides, Blaine glared at the group facing him.

"Alec asked me to stay with him," Blaine said, hoping he sounded confident standing in front of his older co-workers.

"With Valentine?" Aldertree narrowed his eyes at him and Blaine had to force himself not to back down under his boss's glare. "Why?"

"Because he's _not_ Valentine."

The others that were gathered around snickered at this and shared amused looks with each other. Their ridicule and clear disbelieve effectively made Blaine feel like a little kid.

"What are you talking about?"

Standing up straight, Blaine met Aldertree's eyes with as much assurance as he could muster up. "He's been telling you the truth. Azazel switched Valentine and Magnus. Alec and Jace have gone to Magnus' apartment to get his spell book so we can get them switched back. They should be back soon. We just need to give them a little more time."

"Not you too," Aldertree sighed, shaking his head in dismay and his shoulders sagged a little. "Do you really expect me to believe this insane story? How has he managed to persuade you of this?"

Blaine hesitated for a moment, his eyes scanning the still entertained faces that were blocking him in. The idea of giving them more reasons to mock him wasn't a pleasant one and he shifted his feet slightly under him at the thought. He prayed that Alec and Jace would be back soon.

Nevertheless, dealing with the mocker of being considered a gullible little kid had to be better than seeing the disappointment in Alec's eyes if he came back to find that Blaine had failed in preventing Magnus any farther torment. And even if this group of Shadowhunters didn't believe him, at least he could buy his cousins more time to return.

Hoping he was still presenting himself in a composed manner, Blaine went over yet again what he heard Azazel and his roommate discussing that morning in their living room.

* * *

"Okay, when we get in there, I'm going to head for Magnus' office to get what he needs for the potion," Alec explained to Jace as they walked through the doors of the apartment complex. Alec pulled out a pair of leather arm cuffs that he had glamoured attached to his waist and handed them to Jace as they stepped onto the elevator. "You need to get these on Magnus."

Jace stared at the handcuffs Alec had given him. "Are you sure about this? You want me _cuff_ Magnus?"

"He's _not_ Magnus," Alec emphasized and shrugged his shoulders just as the door slid open on their floor. "We have to get him back to the Institute somehow."

"Are you sure these will hold him?" Jace asked while turning the cuffs over in his hands as the pair walked down the hallway. "There's no magic damping spell on them."

"According to Blaine, he doesn't know how to make the warlock's magic work," Alec explained, nodding at the item. "Those should be efficient enough."

Coming to a stop in front of the loft, Jace set a temporary glamour onto the arm cuffs and waited as Alec knocked on the door. Seconds later, a man came into view as the door was pulled open from the other side.

"What?" the warlock groaned, an annoyed expression planted firmly on his face.

Jace stared in shock at the man that had opened the door. He had Magnus' face, but that was where the similarities stopped. Everything from the warlock's hair to the tone of his voice just screamed _not Magnus_. Alec was right. Just looking at him, Jace could tell something was seriously off with the guy.

"I need to grab a few things from your office. It should only take a couple minutes," Alec explained, a determined look on his face.

"Now's not a good time," the man that looked like Magnus spat and started to close the door, but Alec was too fast for him.

Forcing the door to remain open with one arm, Alec allowed a darker tone to grow in his voice that Jace had never heard him use towards Magnus before.

"Something has come up at the Institute and we need to grab a few supplies," Alec stated, glaring at the man.

Being Valentine trapped inside the warlock's body that incentive didn't do any good, and the man attempted to force the door closed with more strength. Taking a step inside, Alec used his foot to help brace the door as well.

"You want us to leave you alone?!" Alec growled dangerously. "Let us grab what we need, and we'll get out of your hair."

The warlock let out a low growl between his teeth before reluctantly opening the door just enough for Alec to enter into the foyer, with Jace quickly darting in behind him before the door could be slammed in his face. Ignoring his new arrivals 'Magnus' spun on his heels and headed back into the living room, picking up the wine glass that was waiting for him on the side table.

"Get those cuffs on him," Alec whispered to Jace urgently before beelining it to the home office that Magnus used as an apothecary room.

Shutting the door to the office to give himself some privacy, Alec quickly made his way around the desk Magnus had set in the far corner of the room. Taking a seat in the chair, he tested the bottom drawer on the right side of desk and found it locked, just as expected. Digging out his stele, he drew an unlocking rune on the drawer, effectively gaining him access to the contents within. Pulling out a few receipts and pushing a few trinkets to the side that his boyfriend had stashed in the drawer, he finally came to the spell book that was lying at the bottom.

Stuffing everything else back inside, Alec slammed the drawer closed and flipped to the index to find a spell that they could use in this particular situation. Running his finger down the page, he swiftly scanned the list before coming across one that sounded promising and flipped to the page that was mentioned. He gave a quick scan over the ingredients before stepping back around the desk and placing the book opened on the Magnus' worktable that was stationed in the center of the room. Grabbing the satchel bag off its hook on the wall that his boyfriend typically used whenever he needed to transport materials to client's homes, Alec got to work gathering everything that Magnus would need to create the potion.

By now, the voices out in the living room had grown angrier, telling Alec that either Jace had just revealed the leather cuffs to the Downworlder or had already succeeded in locking him into the restraints. He was still sorting through Magnus' shelves when he heard a knock on the office door.

"Come in," Alec called, stowing yet another item into the bag. Looking up at the sound of the door swinging open, he saw Jace appear in the doorway.

"Ready out here. How are you doing?"

Reaching for the spell book that was still lying open on the table, Alec forced it into the bag in between the other bottles and clapped the straps closed. "Ready," he noted, swinging the strap over his shoulder. "Let's go."

* * *

"Thank the angels, you're back," Blaine cried when he saw Jace walking into the jail cell, shoving the Downworlder into the room ahead of him. Alec came strolling in right behind them, a brown bag hanging from one shoulder.

"What are _they_ doing here?" Jace asked, nodding at the six men standing around Blaine.

"What do you think?" Blaine stated, and gestured towards the dirty chair that was nailed to the ground in the center of the room. "They want to torture him for information again."

Behind him, 'Valentine' sat staring at Alec with pleading eyes.

"Blaine seems to think Valentine and Magnus have been switched by Azazel," Aldertree sighed before his eyes finally came to rest on the restrained warlock and frowned at the two Shadowhunters that were flanking him. "You too?"

"I know how it sounds, but I know my boyfriend and that's not him," Alec stressed, and nodded in the direction of the seeming emotionally drained man that Jace had by the elbow before turning back to his boss. "We just need a few minutes to fix this."

For the first time since they walked in the room, Aldertree really looked at 'Magnus'. After a moment of silence, he let out a heavy sigh.

"How much time do you need?"

Alec turned his gaze towards 'Valentine' and raised an eyebrow in question.

The older man shrugged. "It's a pretty simple potion. Five minutes?"

"Fine, five minutes," Aldertree resigned and turned to shoo his followers out of the cell.

With the tormentors effectively removed, Jace dragged his prisoner over to the dirty chair and forced him into it while 'Magnus' mumbled something incoherently through the cloth that was tied around his mouth as a make shift gag. Stepping around them, Alec tossed 'Valentine' the satchel bag, which he instantly unclipped the latch to and began to pull out the contents that were within it.

Placing the spell book in his lap, the older man flipped straight to a certain page and scanned quickly over the words before placing the opened book to the side to reverence to. Taking out a jar of orange liquid, he unscrewed the cap and handed it to Blaine who had returned to his seat on the bed again.

"Hold this?" 'Valentine' asked.

Blaine took it without question and watched as the man dealt out different amounts of the contents from the other jars into the liquid, casting occasional glances at the open spell book as he went. Finally replacing the cap to the last ingredient, the ex-Shadowhunter reached back into the bag for the two small glasses that Alec had stowed in there at the last minute. Taking the now brown jar of liquid from Blaine's hands, he carefully poured a little of its contents into both of the cups before looking up at Alec who had been standing over him during the whole process.

"He needs to drink this at the same time I do," he explained, handing one over to Alec.

With a nod, the Shadowhunter walked over towards Jace who was standing guard over 'Magnus' and removed the cloth from his mouth to let it fall around his neck. Alec then turned back to wait for 'Valentine's' cue.

"Reddite animas nostras in earum corpora," the older man chanted the Latin spell before bringing the glass to his lips and watched as Alec forced the Downworlder's head back to successfully pour the contents of the glass down the warlock's throat before doing the same.

A few seconds ticked by were nothing happened . . . and then strikes of blue light began to radiate out of both Valentine and Magnus' bodies in the direction of the other. Slowly, the two forms floated into the air and the places where their eyes were supposed to be transformed into to two black holes on their faces. This continued for few moments and then the pulsing light suddenly blinked out and both bodies dropped to the ground, their eyes returning to normal.

"Magnus?!" Alec cried, kneeling down in front of the man that _looked_ like his boyfriend. Behind him, Alec could hear Blaine and Jace tending to Valentine as the warlock slowly opened his eyes and stared up at him. "Did it work? Magnus?"

The Downworlder glanced down at his chained-up arms and let out a small chuckle before locking eyes with his boyfriend again. "Yeah, Alexander. It worked."

A bright smile stretched across Alec's face and he pulled Magnus towards him, holding him close . . . until he felt the Downworlder struggling in his arms.

"Um, Alexander . . ." Alec quickly pulled back at the dejected tone in the man's voice but relaxed as the warlock smirked at him and raised his still cuffed arms as explanation. "Can you take these off now so I can give my boyfriend a proper hug?"

With a soft chuckle, Alec pulled his stele out of his jacket pocket and drew a rune on the dark leather, allowing the restraints to fall away.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"I have a surprise for you," Clary grinned as she leaned against the table, eyes locked on Simon who was sitting across from her. "Close your eyes." With a curious look on his face, the vampire did as he was asked and Blaine watched as the woman slid what appeared to be a colorful flier across the surface. "Okay, open."

Glancing down, Simon took in the image on the piece of paper of a panda holding a guitar in his hands. "What is this?"

"I . . . kind of booked you a show."

"A show?" Kurt asked, sitting up straighter in his seat across the table from Blaine.

They had quickly decided to make their relationship official just a couple days after their first date at the theater. It had been a little over a month since then, and Blaine found himself feeling happier than he had been in a while. Still, the idea of dragging Kurt into his world worried Blaine and because of that he had decided that he should take his time introducing him to his friends and family. This was their first double date out with Simon and Clary.

"Simon's in a band," Blaine explained quickly to him before turning to Clary who was sitting next to his boyfriend. "How did you pull this off?" he asked, tapping a finger on the flier.

"I have connections," she smirked at him, before tilting her head towards Maia who was working behind the bar.

"Clary, this is amazing, but Rock Solid Panda's kind of extinct now," Simon reminded the redhead. "There's no Rock. There's no solid. I'm just a . . . a lone panda."

"I've heard the music you've been working on. It's really good," the woman insisted. "It'll be fine. You can 'rock solid' on your own."

"No," Simon said, nervously shaking his head. "It's one thing to play in the boat basin, but here . . . in front of actual people."

"I think you should do it," Kurt jumped in, resting his arms in front of him on the table. "I'd love to hear you perform."

"Yeah, I'll come too," Blaine agreed.

Finishing their dinners, they paid their check before deciding to stop somewhere to get ice cream for dessert.

"What if they hate my music so bad that they start throwing their pretzel sticks at me?" Simon asked, still panicking as the group headed out the front door of the Hunter's Moon.

Blaine caught Kurt rolling his eyes at Simon's complaints as he moved to hold his hand and smirked at the mundane in silent agreement.

"I'm sure it won't be that bad," Blaine tried, turning away from his boyfriend and nudged the vampire with his elbow. "Stop worrying. You'll be great."

"Besides, I'll take down anyone before they get the chance to throw food at you," Clary promised.

Blaine heard a low hum coming from the watch that Isabelle had giving him and glanced down to find the six tiny, dark red rubies pulsing and glowing in sync with each other. Pausing in the middle of the sidewalk, the young Shadowhunter dropped Kurt's hand and quickly placed his other on top of the timepiece hoping the mundane hadn't noticed it being activated.

"What was that?" Kurt asked, gesturing towards Blaine's wrist indicating that he had indeed noticed.

"An alarm," Blaine said, and he turned a pleading look in Clary and Simon's direction for help.

"I'm sorry, Kurt. We forgot. There's a meeting back at the Institute we have to get to," Clary came up with, her words sounding more believable as they left her mouth. Her and Simon were already taking a couple steps away from the mundane, preparing to go after the demon that had activated the watch. "Maybe we could go for ice cream another time?"

Blaine vaguely heard Simon whispering into Clary's ear, "I smell blood", and his heart start hammering in his chest. Kurt had to leave. Now.

"Sure, that's fine," Kurt nodded at Blaine. If he noticed the growing dread that was seeping through the gel-head kid's body, he didn't say anything about it. Instead, he turned towards the vampire. "Simon, would you still like to hang out? I'd love to hear more about your music."

"Umm . . ." Simon hummed, locking eyes with Clary anxiously.

A frown appeared on Kurt's pale face and his shoulders slumped slightly. "Unless . . . you work with the Institute too?"

"Well . . . not exactly," Simon eyed Clary, not sure what to say.

Blaine bit the inside of his cheek gently before he spoke again. "Simon is . . . sort of an old client of ours. He helps us out from time to time now," he replied, taking a couple steps back himself. "I'm sorry, Kurt. We really have to go." With that, he turned to follow Clary and Simon as they headed down the next alley.

Once out of view from the main walkway, Clary and Blaine reached for their weapons that were glamoured at their sides. Blaine gave his double-edged staff a twirl in the palm of one hand before gripping it in a proper attack hold.

"Ugh!" Clary cried in disgust, and Blaine hurried over to stand next to her and Simon to see something on the ground lying in a pool of blood. "Oh my God, that looks like . . ."

"Human flesh," Simon finished for her as Blaine stepped closer and kneeled down to get a better look at it.

"Guys . . ." the young Shadowhunter moaned in a warning tone before pointing at the object with his free hand. "That looks like a rune."

Stepping around him, Simon and Clary continued cautiously down the walkway, passing a few more pieces of skin with various symbols on them as they went. Blaine quietly caught up to them just as they were turning a corner, and Clary stopped in her tracks, a small gasp escaping her. Scooting around her to find out what caused her to stop so abruptly, Blaine found himself staring down at a dead body with patches of skin carved out of its flesh.

"By the Angel," Blaine sighed. "A demon did this?"

Simon shook his head, getting on his knees next to the body and pointed out the marks on the dead man's neck. "This was a vampire."

"Then why did your watch go off?" Clary asked, spinning around on Blaine. "Vampires have demon blood . . . Does it go off for them too?"

Blaine shook his head. "Simon has been with us all night and it hasn't gone off," he reminded her, motioning towards the mentioned monster. "Besides, I live with Magnus. If demon blood was all it took to make it activate, it would be going off all the time."

Before anyone else could speak, a crash was heard farther down the dark alley. The three friends shared a look before silently hurrying in the direction of the sound.

They slowed when they heard another crash just a few yards to their right. In the shadows, the group could just barely make out the shape of something dark and human sized starting to climb up the wall. With inhuman speed, Simon raced over and grabbed the thing by one of its limbs and hurled it towards the opposite wall to prevent it from getting out of their reach. With her blade held up, Clary moved in the direction of the creature. Blaine started to follow her but paused and turned his head over his shoulder to look back the way they had come.

"Did you guys hear something?" he asked, scanning the shadows for movement.

"Hear what?" Simon asked spinning around to glance at Blaine who still wasn't looking in their direction.

Blaine turned back in time see Clary bringing her sword down into the demon creature's stomach; killing the thing instantly, when two more dark forms raced out of the shadows near Simon.

"Simon! Look out!" Blaine called in warning.

The vampire twirled back in time to catch sight of his attacker seconds before one leaped at him, knocking him over onto his back with a cry of alarm, tipping a trashcan over on his way down. In just a few steps, Blaine was by his side and plunged one end of his staff between the thing's shoulder blades. Turning around to check on the other one, Blaine spied the redhead hurrying even farther down the passageway after the last demon. By now, Simon had pushed himself back to his feet, but before either of them could move forward to follow the female, another sound was heard from the alley behind them; this time a scream, causing both boys to glance back.

"Go check it out," Simon said nodding in the direction of the shriek. "I'll follow Clary and make sure she gets the last demon." The words were barely out of his mouth before he disappeared as he raced off after his girlfriend with his inhuman speed.

With his double-edged staff still clutched in his hand, Blaine jogged back in the direction of the cry for help. Nearing the corner, he could make out the voice of someone giving taunting threats, which were answered by a whimper from their victim.

Turning the corner, Blaine was brought up short by what he saw and his eyes grew wide. With the help of one of the few working light fixtures in the chosen alley, Blaine was able to make out the appearance of a vampire with long wavy dirty blonde hair standing with her fangs bare, hissing at a teenage boy that had his back pressed against the wall. The monster let out a hissing noise as she stretched open her jaw and went to sink her teeth into the boy's pale neck.

"Hey!" Blaine cried and raced towards the victim.

The vampire pulled back an inch from his prey to send the young Shadowhunter a glare and let out a hiss in his direction, but she only let go of Kurt when Blaine shoved the monster away with one hand and held her to the wall to the mundane's left. Blood was dripping down the leech's chin and Blaine turned back to his boyfriend just long enough to verify that he hadn't been bitten.

"It was you?!" the gel-haired boy snarled into the monsters face, gripping the woman's shirt in his fists. "You killed the Shadowhunter?!"

One side of the woman's lips perked up in a dark smirk. "What did you expect? It was your people that allowed the Soul Sword to be activated. Many in my clan died in that attack," she spat, showing her fangs. "This is only the beginning. The uprising is coming."

Furious with the accusation towards his co-workers, Blaine plunged his weapon into the vampire's heart and watched as she turned to dust under his fingers.

"You – You killed her . . ."

Slowly, Blaine turned his head to find Kurt staring back at him with huge eyes.

"What – What was she talking about? You kill people?"

Blaine dropped his weapon, which landed on the asphalt with a soft clunk. "Kurt . . ." He tried to take a step closer to the boy, but the mundane simply scooted along the wall to gain more distance between them. "Kurt, please. It's not like that. Just let me explain."

Before he could continue though, they both heard footsteps running towards them and looked up to find Clary and Simon approaching. Clary's sword was no longer in her hands, being returned to its glamoured state by her waist.

Seeing the terrified look on Kurt's face, Clary hesitated as she drew closer. "What happened?"

"The vampire that attacked the Shadowhunter came back," Blaine explained quickly, gesturing towards where the body was still lying around the corner. "I got back here in time to stop her from biting Kurt."

Clary's eyes wandered back to the mundane, understanding seeping into her features. "Look . . . why don't you take Kurt back to Magnus' place. He probably has something he could use to help calm him down. Simon and I will stay here and call in the attack."

* * *

It took a little convincing, but Blaine managed to get Kurt to travel with him the couple of blocks needed to reach Magnus' apartment building. Unlocking the door to the loft, Blaine dragged his boyfriend in behind him.

"Magnus!" he called entering the living room. "Are you here?"

"Right here," Magnus greeted strolling out of his bedroom wearing a dark blue shirt with a black sparkly jacket over top . . . and pink eye shadow. The warlock had worn some pretty elaborate outfits in the past, but the look he was presenting right then was a bit much even for him, causing Blaine to pause for a moment.

"Magnus . . ."

"Apparently he needed a change," Alec noted, following the Downworlder out of the bedroom. "Who is this?"

"This is Kurt," he explained. He could feel the boy's rapid pulse under his fingertips that were wrapped around his boyfriend's wrist and his breathing had speed up on their short journey to the building. Blaine was starting to worry the kid was going into shock. "Clary told me that you had wiped her memory several times when she was a child," Blaine said, directing the comment at the warlock. "Can you do that again?"

At that, Kurt yanked his hand out of Blaine's grip and took a couple shaky steps backwards. "Wipe my memory? What? No!" he cried, shaking his head at Magnus before turning to the teenager close to him. "What is going on, Blaine?"

"Look, I don't _want_ to wipe your memory, but if you can't handle this–"

"Handle what?! What is going on? What was that back in the alley?" Kurt demanded.

"Slow down," Alec advised as he stepped closer to the arguing boys in front him, hoping to disperse the tension that had suddenly filled the loft. "Start at the beginning, Blaine. What happened?"

"We were on our double date with Clary and Simon when my demon locator went off," Blaine started, raising his arm to show off the watch. As he continued on with his story, he could sense Kurt's panic increasing at his words. "I think Kurt must have followed me down the alley," he said, finishing up his explanation. "The vampire that attacked the Shadowhunter returned and was about to bite him when I stepped in."

"Demons . . . and vampires?" Kurt shook his head desperately, trying to wrap his mind around what he was hearing. "There are no such things as–"

"Kurt . . ." Blaine lowered his voice as he turned to face the frightened boy. "Remember when I told you that there were some things about my job . . . about my life, that I couldn't talk to you about?" Kurt just shook his head, not wanting to believe what he was being told. A few tears were escaping down his cheeks. "That thing in the alley . . . She had fangs, Kurt. She was getting ready to bite your neck . . . She turned to dust after I killed her."

Kurt's eyes widened again. Raising a hand to his face, he wiped the tear tracks from his cheeks. "I . . . What . . .?"

"Here, why don't you take a seat," Magnus offered, motioning to one of the couches in the room. "You look like you're about to collapse."

Blaine helped his boyfriend over to the furniture and sat him down. Planting himself next to him, he rubbed the back of his fingers against the mundane's upper arm, hoping the action would help sooth him.

"Demons and vampires . . . They are real?" Kurt asked, staring at Blaine with wet eyes and he slowly nodded his head in answer. "What – What's a Shadowhunter?"

Blaine sighed. "That's what I am. Me and Alec," he added, gesturing towards the other boy in the room that had tattoos. "We kill demons and help with any problems that come up among the Downworlders."

"Downworlders? You mean the vampires?"

Blaine opened his mouth to explain but no words would come out.

"Blaine?" Kurt pleaded. "You said you would tell me everything."

The young Shadowhunter let out another sigh in surrender. "Vampires, yes . . . and also werewolves, warlocks, Seelies–"

"Seelies?"

"Like, faeries . . . and elves," Alec helped, kneeling down in front of the pair. Magnus stayed in his standing position in front of the couch. "We group them together into what we call the Seelies."

Kurt lifted his chin slightly to look up at Magnus, studying him for a moment before turning back to Blaine. "What is _he_ then?" he asked, nodding in Magnus' direction. "You said he could wipe my memories."

"Magnus is a warlock," Blaine explained, looking up at the man as he talked about him. "He could wipe your memories of this night if you want."

Kurt's head lowered as he stared down at his lap. While the boy took some time to digests everything he had learned, Alec turned towards Blaine.

"Did you guys call in the Shadowhunter attack?" Alec asked, keeping his voice low.

Blaine nodded. "Clary said she was going to call it in." He gazed at his cousin for a moment before turning to Magnus. "Hey, can you stay with him for a moment?" he asked, nodding at the frightened boy next to him and he could feel Kurt stiffening slightly at the idea of being left alone with a warlock.

"Of course," Magnus said with a nod.

Getting up, Blaine led Alec towards the side of the room so he could still keep an eye on Kurt, but far enough away that the boy couldn't hear their conversation. When he was satisfied with their location, Blaine said, "We need to send a warning to Aldertree. The Institute needs to be on high alert."

"From what?" Alec asked, mimicking the low tone in Blaine's voice.

"According to the vampire I killed tonight, this isn't going to be the only attack against the Shadowhunters," Blaine insisted. "The Downworlders are blaming _us_ for what happened with the Soul Sword. They want revenge for all the deaths that occurred."

Alec nodded. "Okay, I'll send Aldertree a fire message to warn him." His gaze then drifted over towards Magnus where he was sitting next to the mundane, clearly doing his best to try to reassure the scared boy that he wasn't going to hurt him. "Is Kurt going to be okay?"

Blaine shrugged. "I don't know, but I'll keep an eye on him."

Alec rested a hand on the young Shadowhunter's shoulder, giving a gentle squeeze before heading into Magnus' home office to write his message to Aldertree.

* * *

"Hey, Blaine," Alec greeted as the boy entered the Institute the next morning. "How is Kurt doing?"

"Better," Blaine said, falling into step beside his cousin. "I walked him back to his place after you left last night. He seemed calmer." He shrugged. "He may need a little time, but I think he's going to be okay with all of this."

"Good," Alec nodded. "Just let me know if there is anything Magnus or I can do to help him adjust."

Entering into the lobby, Alec and Blaine noticed all their co-workers gathered under the staircase with Aldertree standing on the landing giving a speech. The late Shadowhunters hurried over to join Izzy and Clary who were standing to one side up front. Only then did they notice Jace standing on the lowest step, facing the gathered crowd as well.

"Another Shadowhunter was found dead early this morning in Williamsburg. This time murdered by a warlock." At that, their boss sent Alec an accusing look, causing the Shadowhunter to share a look with Blaine. "Now, as some of you already know, I have been offered a position on the Council. I have accepted the offer and will be moving to Idris in a few days. I am aware that the timing is not ideal, but during this crisis, it is essential that we maintain a strong leadership. That is why I am naming Jace Herondale as Head of the Institute, effective upon my departure to Idris. Dismissed."

As the crowd dispersed, Isabelle, Clary, Blaine, and Alec followed Jace who was heading straight for one of the computers.

"Head of the Institute?" Alec exclaimed. "When did this happen?"

"He just told me last night," the blonde said, keeping his tone even before spinning around to face his parabatai. "It should've been you, Alec. I tried to tell him that."

Alec shrugged trying to keep the disappointment off his face, but the jealousy still showed in his eyes. "The Clave was never going to hand it to me. I'm dating a guy who's a Downworlder."

"That shouldn't matter," Blaine spoke up, sounding angry.

"Look Alec," Jace continued, ignoring Blaine's interruption. "I didn't want this, I swear."

Before he could voice his frustrations again though, an alarm suddenly went off and red lights flashed over their heads.

All four turned in unison to find two of their fellow Shadowhunters walking at a brisk pace down the hallway towards them. Two men were lying on stretches behind them that were being pushed by members of their medic staff.

"What happened?!" Aldertree's voice boomed through the room, and the man suddenly materialized in front of them.

"We found Rosegreen and Penmount dead in the Bowery," one of the women that was leading in the paramedics stated. "They had their runes carved out, just like the others. This one appears to have been the work of werewolves."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

It was late by the time Blaine had gotten Kurt back to the apartment that he shared with his father. With a quick goodbye to his boyfriend, the mundane made his way straight to his bedroom. Kicking his shoes off, he slipped out of his jeans and shirt before sliding under his covers, pulling his blanket up to his chin.

After everything that had transpired that afternoon, he desperately wanted to fall into a peaceful sleep. Just a few hours of rest . . . but every time he closed his eyes, he was terrorized by images of vampire fangs reaching for his neck and his eyes would snap open in fear. Most of his night was spent tossing and turning in bed, and staring into the dark corners of his room, wondering if something was hiding in the shadows. Eventually, he managed to drift off for a few hours only to have his dreams invested with vampires ripping out his throat, werewolves tearing his chest open with sharp claws, and warlocks pelting him with balls of fire.

It was almost four o'clock in the morning when Kurt finally gave up on sleep. Being careful not to wake up his dad, he quietly made his way out into the living room and flipped on the television; turning the volume down low, hoping he would be able to get absorbed into the images coming through box and forget about the horrors of last night.

His dad ventured out into the kitchen a little after six, dressed in jeans and a red-checkered button up shirt.

"You're up early for a Saturday," his dad noted, seeing his son planted on the sofa.

Thank God it _was_ Saturday. With his lack of sleep and traumatism, Kurt knew he wouldn't have been able to concentrate long enough to sit in a classroom and listen to teachers rambling on about whatever subject they were trying to drill into their students' heads.

Kurt just shrugged his shoulders at his father's comment and kept his eyes glued to the television.

"Got any plans this weekend?" his dad asked as he pulled out a carton of milk from the fridge.

"Not really," Kurt stated. "Blaine said he might stop by later today."

"Yeah, how have things been going with him?" When Kurt simply shrugged again, his father continued. "Why don't you invite Blaine over for dinner sometime soon? It would give me the chance to get to know him more."

Kurt remained silent at the idea. By the sudden silence from the kitchen, he knew his dad had paused in the process of preparing his breakfast and the hairs on the back of Kurt's neck raised at the feeling of eyes watching him.

"Everything okay, Kurt?" his dad asked, worry seeping into his voice.

Kurt bit his lip gently before slowly speaking up. "Yeah – Yeah, dad. Everything's fine."

"Did you and Blaine have some kind of fight?"

"No, dad," Kurt said, his voice beginning to rise in frustration. "I'm fine."

After another moment of silence, he heard the sound of a cereal box being opened and knew his father had let the issue go for now. With his meal in hand, the man joined Kurt on the couch to watch TV with him before heading off to work.

* * *

Kurt was just forcing down a few more bites of his early lunch when he started to think that taking Blaine up on his offer of having Magnus' magic tinkering around inside his brain might not be a bad idea. Going back to being clueless of the monsters that roamed the streets of New York sounded pretty good at the moment. He had survived this long without knowing about werewolves and vampires after all, and it would get his heart to stop banging like a drum inside his chest.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a knock at his front door. Adrenaline coursing through his veins, he placed his dirty dishes in the sink before slowly approaching the door and glanced through the peephole. He let out a sigh of relief at the sight of Blaine on the other side and released the deadbolt to swing it open.

"Hey, Kurt," Blaine greeted with a small smile, but his eyes held concern and Kurt frowned as he stepped aside to let his boyfriend into the foyer.

"Something wrong?"

Blaine shook his head. "You first. How are _you_ doing . . . after yesterday?" He frowned as he looked the boy in the eyes. "You look exhausted. Did you get any sleep last night?"

Kurt shrugged. "Not much," he admitted.

"Do you want to talk about?"

Kurt just shook his head at the question. "Are you okay?"

Blaine let out a heavy sigh. "I need you to come with me to the Institute."

Kurt blinked in surprise at this and crossed his arms. "Why?"

The young Shadowhunter looked nervous as he took a moment to get his words together. "There is a . . . revolt going on amongst the Downworlders. A lot of them aren't really happy with the Shadowhunters at the moment and they have started to fight back. Just to be safe, I want you to stay at the Institute for a while."

"But . . . I'm not a Shadowhunter."

"You are dating one though," Blaine said slowly, studying Kurt's expressions closely to make sure he was scaring the boy again. "It's just . . ."

Realization crossed over the mundane's face. "You think one of these monsters may come after _me_ to try and get to _you_?"

"I won't let that happen," Blaine swore, a determined look in his eyes and then turned to reopen the front door. "Come on. I promised Alec I would be right back."

* * *

Kurt gasped in shock at the scene he found inside the old, and what he'd originally thought was abandoned, church. Following Blaine down the hallway, he entered a huge room with tables and computer screens. Several people with tattoos were gathered around the machines working. Kurt was still taking in the scene around him when he felt his boyfriend take his hand.

"Come on," Blaine said, lightly pulling him towards a side room. "My cousins want to talk to us."

Dazed, Kurt allowed the Shadowhunter to lead the way. The room Blaine pulled him into appeared to be set up for group meetings. Alec, Magnus, Clary, and Simon were already there. Including the blonde kid that had ran into one of their Glee club meetings over a month ago. Jace, was it? Another girl with long black hair was also present.

"Blaine, there you are," Alec exclaimed, seeing their new arrivals entering. "I was starting to get worried."

"I'm fine," Blaine reassured and led Kurt to an opening around the table. "Kurt, that's Jace and Izzy," his boyfriend introduced. "I think you know everyone else."

"_This_ is Kurt?" Isabelle asked, her voice filled with enthusiasm as she stepped around her older brother to greet the mundane properly. "Well, it's about time you let me meet him. Where have you been hiding him?"

Blaine sent her a short glare before turning to address the blonde man. "What are Magnus and Simon doing here? Not that I'm not happy to see them, but with the Downworlder uprising I'm surprised Aldertree allowed them into the Institute."

"They had to pass a DNA test in order to be allowed entry," Alec explained for his parabatai, and Kurt noted the look of disapproval on the warlock's face.

"Okay, I get why Magnus had to pass a DNA test, but why Simon?" Kurt asked. "He's not–" He paused when he saw the look in Blaine's eyes. "Si – Simon's a Downworlder?" His head spun around to lock eyes on the boy that was standing next to the redhead.

"Simon is a vampire," Clary admitted and as farther proof, Simon bared his fangs for a second causing Kurt to slide closer to Blaine.

"_Simon_," Blaine warned as he rested a hand over Kurt's that was gripping his arm. "Relax, he's not going to hurt you," he promised the frightened boy and turned to address Jace again. "So, what's the plan?"

"We are still waiting for the DNA tests to get back for Luke and Raphael," Jace explained. "This whole thing started because of what transpired with the Soul Sword. If we can talk to the Heads of all the clans together, I'm hoping we can find a way to fix this mess peacefully before anyone else gets hurt."

"And Aldertree is okay with this?" Blaine asked skeptically.

"He is arranging for more security to stand guard outside of the room where the meeting will be held," Clary noted. "I doubt we'll have any issues from Magnus and Luke, and Raphael can be reasonable most of the time. As long as the conversation is kept civil, I don't think we will have any problems."

"Luke and Raphael have been cleared," a voice came from the doorway behind Kurt and Blaine, and the group turned to find Aldertree standing in the entrance. "Jace. Magnus. Come with me."

"Duty calls," Magnus exclaimed, resting a hand on Alec's shoulder. He squeezed it gently before stepping around his boyfriend to follow Jace out of the room. Alec, Isabelle, Clary, and Simon cleared out of the room soon after, leaving Kurt and Blaine alone to talk.

"_Simon's_ a vampire?" Kurt cried, still trying to wrap his mind around that information. "But he's so . . ."

"Nice? Caring? Funny?"

"All the above . . ."

"That's the thing that a lot of people don't get," Blaine said, shaking his head and folding his arms across his chest. "What you mundanes call _'monsters'_, most of them are just like anybody else. They have feelings . . . emotions. They aren't all bad or want to hurt people. For a lot of them, they only attack if they feel threatened in some way."

Kurt turned away from Blaine's stare as he took in this new information. The young Shadowhunter couldn't help the smirk that formed on his face as he watched the boy's muscles finally starting to relax from their tense state.

The mundane sighed before looking up at him again, seeming a lot calmer. "So, who are Luke and Raphael? Why are they the ones going to this meeting?"

"You've sort of met Luke before. He was the police officer that ran in with Jace during one of our Glee meetings?" Blaine reminded him. "Anyways, each clan in Brooklyn has a leader. Luke is a werewolf and is the pack leader. Raphael is in charge of the vampires, and Magnus is the High Warlock," Blaine explained, and shrugged before going on. "The Seelies have a Queen too, but she usually stays in her own realm."

Before Kurt could ask anything else, Alec came rushing back in. "An emergency call just came in. A few wolves were spotted just a couple blocks from here following some Shadowhunters. They need back up." With that, Alec turned and headed back out of the room, knowing that Blaine would keep up.

"What about Kurt?" Blaine asked as they returned to the main room.

Alec spun around to face the two boys again and studied the mundane who was staying close to his boyfriend's side. "He could stay here and hang out with Simon." He eyed the teenager for a moment before adding. "If he feels comfortable."

Blaine turned to glance at the boy over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow at him in question.

Kurt swallowed nervously, thinking it over for a second before slowly nodding his head. "That's fine."

"Simon was heading up to Clary's room. You can show Kurt there and then meet us by the front door," Alec explained and Blaine turned to lead his boyfriend to the redhead's bedroom. "Hurry!" his cousin called out behind him before the two boys darted up the stairs.

* * *

The blinds were closed when Kurt entered the bedroom, causing a pattern to appear on the floor through the cracks. Simon was sitting on the bed flipping through a sketchbook. He raised his head when he heard the door open and smiled at the mundane.

"Hey," the vampire greeted, and Kurt shuffled his feet nervously in the doorway. "You can come in if you want. I won't bite." Simon smirked.

Kurt managed a shy smile at the boy's little joke and stepped inside enough to shut the door behind him while Simon turned back to the drawings. Giving the bedroom a quick scan, the mundane spied a couple art stands with huge sheets of paper propped up, each drawing in different states of completion. Kurt hesitantly stepped closer to the setups to get a better look at the work.

"Clary did these?" he asked, glancing at the vampire over his shoulder.

Simon looked up to see what he was referring to and nodded. "She has a gift," he replied, turning away again.

Kurt stopped in front of each piece to take in the images. Most of them were of landscapes and buildings, but then he stopped as he came to one that was covered in different furry, winged, and clawed mythical creatures . . . Probably not that mythical if he thought about it.

"How did it happen?"

"What?" Simon asked, turning back to him with a confused look.

"_You_. How did you become a vampire?"

Simon glanced back down at the book in his lap and turned the page. "Clary was just getting introduced to this world. I had been her best friend for . . . years. Since we were children. So, when she got dragged into all of this, she took me along for the ride." He paused, tracing his fingers over the white page in front of him. "I was kidnapped by Raphael and Camille; she was the vampire Head at the time. Camille used an encanto charm on me so I wouldn't fight her off while she started the process of changing me."

"Encanto?"

"It's a lot like hypnosis," he explained.

Kurt studied the drawing the redhead had been working on with the cluster of monsters. "Clary didn't grow up in this world?"

"Her mom hid it from her until her eighteenth birthday."

As they talked, Kurt could feel his heart rate steadying itself. After a few minutes, he found that he wasn't scared of the man sitting just a few feet away from him. Sure, if he wanted to, Simon could spring up from the mattress with fangs bare and attack him, but something in the vampire's voice made him relax. The more time he spent around this monster, the stronger his impression of him came that he wasn't going to hurt him. This feeling of being safe in the presence of a blood thirsty creature didn't make sense though.

Kurt bit his bottom lip gently. "How does it work?"

Simon raised his head again, lifting an eyebrow as a way of asking for more information.

"The blood thirst. I mean . . . You're a vampire, right? You need blood, but Blaine said you don't hurt people."

The vampire shrugged. "We don't have to hurt people to get blood. There are the bags of blood you can get at hospitals and Maia serves it on tap at the bar. There are even bleeder dens if any of us want it fresh."

"Bleeder dens?"

"You're not the only mundane that knows about this world. There are people out there that get turned on by vampires drinking from them. There are places for willing mundanes to go to meet with vampires to get bitten."

Kurt shivered at the thought. "Why would someone want that?"

"It's like an addiction for them," Simon said before turning back to the kid. "I'm not like that though. I prefer it from bags or on tap at the Hunter's Moon."

With slight hesitation, Kurt moved over to take a seat on the corner of the bed next to Simon.

"And you're okay with this? Being like this?"

"I wasn't at first," Simon admitted, turning another page in the book. "But with Raphael, Clary, and the other Shadowhunters . . . They helped me through the beginning. Getting me used to all the changes."

"Really?" Kurt's hands were gripping the side of the mattress by his knees, his fingers making dents in the blanket.

The vampire nodded. "Thanks to them, they made me realize that besides for the inhuman speed, super strength, better eyesight, agility . . . and the thirst for blood . . . I am still me underneath."

* * *

They heard the snarling of wolves and a scream before coming into view of the vicious attack. One of their co-workers, Underhill, was lying on his back on the pavement with a dark red-furred wolf on top of him, biting at his shoulder.

With the slightest twist of her wrist, Isabelle's snake bracelet came alive and slithered into the form of her whip, which she gripped firmly in her hand. Bringing her arm back, she sent the leather weapon to coil around the wolf's mussel. With a tug, the wolf was easily convinced to back off of its victim.

The second Shadowhunter was a few feet away from Underhill trying to fight off a black dog with a seraph dagger that she had in one hand. Alec already had his bow out and sent an arrow flying towards his target, the wolf's back leg.

They had discussed it on the way over. With the cause of the uprising being the deaths of the Downworlders clan mates, they didn't want to go in with killing in mind. It wouldn't solve anything to end the lives of more monsters right now.

The injured wolf let out a whine in pain and limped a short distance off to tend to his wound.

With two dogs taken care of, Izzy hurried over to check on Underhill's wounded shoulder. Seeing the damage that had been made, she took out her stele and helped him activate his healing rune.

A deep growl sounded around them, and the group looked up to find themselves surround by five wolves. Blaine, Alec, and Izzy gripped their weapons and prepared for the danger that was staring at them.

Three of the wolves suddenly lunged at them. Alec took one out with an arrow, while Blaine sliced one across the neck that was coming right at him. The third was making a run pass them to take another go at the down Shadowhunter that Izzy was still crouched over, and Blaine spun cutting it across its side as it tried to leap by him. With a cry, the werewolf went down, landing on its good side.

More wolves appeared from around the corners of buildings and ran at them as a group, growling deep in their throats. The battle progressed for a while, the creatures seeming to pop back up from their minor wounds to reenter the fight.

It had been over an hour since Alec, Blaine, and Isabelle had left the Institute by the time a voice called out behind them.

"Stand down!" the voice commanded, and the Shadowhunters turned to find Luke glaring at his pack members.

One of the still uninjured wolves morphed back into a human form. Standing up straight, the man's clothes hung in rags off of his shoulders from his transformation.

"Why should we?" the morphed wolf demanded to his leader. "They killed our pack members. Our friends! They need to pay for what they did."

"Russell, you need to calm down. You–" Luke tried to reason with him, but the man interrupted him.

"As a family, our numbers are dwindling. We are fading out of existence! They are making it worse."

"That's enough. _They_ didn't kill anybody. Alright? You are forgetting that it was Valentine that activated the sword in the first place," Luke persisted.

"And their job is to prevent things like that from happening!" Russell snapped back. By this point, Russell had gotten within feet of his pack leader. "I've had enough, Luke. I challenge you. Right here, right now."

One of the other wolves suddenly transformed and turned into Maia, her clothes also hanging in tatters. "Russell, what are you doing?" she warned.

"He's not fit to be our alpha. Not anymore," he snapped at Maia before turning back to Luke. "Come on. Let's go!"

The Shadowhunters looked on in concern, but Luke stood his ground and glared back at his pack mate. "We've all had a rough time lately, so I'm giving you a chance to reconsider. I've seen way too many wolves die to stomach seeing another."

Russell stared back at him for what felt like minutes before finally backing off.

"The werewolves are no longer going to have a part in the uprising," Luke ordered to the gathered wolves. "If I find out that anyone has attacked a Shadowhunter from this moment on, you will be banished from the pack."

* * *

Later that afternoon, Alec, Jace, Isabelle, Magnus, Blaine, and Kurt were gathered in the Head's office.

"How is Raphael doing with getting all the vampires under control again?" Izzy asked, sitting cross-legged on the couch.

"He's got Simon and few other vamps helping him spread the word," Jace explained. "By morning, they should all be aware of the consequences for if they continue to attack us."

"The warlocks have been notified as well," Magnus spoke up. "They shouldn't be a problem anymore," he added, sounding confident in the matter.

"Great." Jace smiled at his brother's boyfriend. "Now, with Aldertree leaving first thing in the morning, I have officially been placed as Head of the Institute . . . and my first act is going to be somewhat controversial," he said as he stood up from one of the chairs and walked over to stand in front of Alec who was leaning against the mantle above the fireplace. "I'm naming you successor."

Alec turned to face the blonde straight on. "What?" he asked in confusion.

A goofy smile was on Jace's lips due to the look on Alec's face. "You, Alec Lightwood, are now the Head of the New York Institute."

"Can you just do that?" Izzy asked, uncrossing her legs as Magnus; who was sitting next to her, looked up at his boyfriend with a proud expression.

"Why not?" Jace shrugged his shoulders at the woman before looking back at Alec. "Personally, I think you'd make a much better leader than I ever could."

Alec smiled, a mixture of nerves and excitement coursing through him. "Thank you, Jace." He sighed and looked over at his cousin who was squeezed into an armchair with Kurt. Blaine had an arm wrapped around the boy's shoulder, while Kurt lay with his head against his. "In that case, as my first decision as Head, Blaine . . . I'd like to offer you your room back."

Blaine blinked up at him in confusion. "My room? What–"

"Here at the Institute," Alec elaborated. "If you want to move back in, I'm sure we have a room available for you."

Blaine sat up straighter in the chair. "But . . . What about my parents?" he gushed. "And the money my dad is sending in?"

"What money?" Kurt asked, perking up next to him and Blaine quickly filled him in on the reason why he had been staying at Magnus' place.

"What? They had already kick you out of your home in Ohio," Kurt complained. "How could they kick you out of your new Institute too?"

Blaine shrugged. "Just trying to make my life as difficult as they can," he sighed, turning back to Alec again. "What about the money? If I come back, my dad will stop sending it."

"The Institute has gotten by in the past without your family's help. I'm sure we can do it again," Alec noted. "You are a very skilled Shadowhunter and you have every right to be here. You're welcome to stay where you are at Magnus' place if you want, but just know that there will always be a place for you here. Okay?" Blaine smiled and nodded his head at his cousin's words. "And just so you know, whether you decide to move back in or not, I won't be accepting any more of your parents money."

Blaine shook his head at that. "Alec, you don't have to–"

"Yes, I do," he insisted. "It wasn't right for Aldertree to make that decision in the first place, and no matter what you decide, I'm not going to let it continue."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

_Got a drop in my throat  
Chill in my bones  
When no one's around  
See a light in a flare, nobody's there  
They don't hear a sound  
All the burden that I face inside every night  
I'm a stranger when I wake, wake up in your eyes_

_When the world I've come to know  
Is a replica of our own  
Forever alone  
Flying in the air_

_When I'm refuged and I'm saved  
And mystery never breaks  
I'm hiding away  
Flying in the air  
It's a fragile world, fragile world, fragile world  
Flying in the air  
It's a fragile world, fragile world, fragile world  
Flying in the air_

_Cause I've come too far, under the stars  
I'm ready to fear  
To earn easy days  
Mysterious ways  
I'll never refill  
All the burden that I face inside every night  
I'm a stranger when I wake, wake up in your eyes_

_When the world I've come to know  
Is a replica of our own  
Forever alone  
Flying in the air_

_When I'm refuged and I'm saved  
In mystery never breaks  
I'm hiding away  
Flying in the air_

_It's a fragile world, fragile world, fragile world  
Flying in the air  
It's a fragile world, fragile world, fragile world  
It's a fragile world, fragile world, fragile world  
Flying in the air  
It's a fragile world, fragile world, fragile world  
Flying in the air_

The crowd ruptured in to cheers as the last notes from Simon's keyboard drifted through the dark room.

Simon spoke into the microphone, thanking the crowed before stepping down to rejoin Clary, Blaine, and Kurt at one of the tables and the lights were turned back on in the bar.

"You were great, Simon," Kurt exclaimed as the vampire sat down.

"And everyone loved you," Clary gushed, brushing her hand against her boyfriend's arm. "I told you, you didn't have anything to worry about."

"Thanks guys." Simon's usually pale skin seemed to grow a hint of color for a moment as his friends praised him. "It was actually nice to be able to perform again. I didn't realize how much I missed it."

"Speaking of performing," Clary started, turning her gaze to the gay couple sitting across from them, "how has Glee club been going? Your Regional competition is coming up soon, isn't it?"

Kurt nodded his head as Blaine said, "The practices have been going really well. We still have a few weeks before our next performance though."

"_Which_ you were offered a solo for," Kurt reminded him. He stretched out the first word in disapproval of the boy for turning down the job.

Blaine shook his head with a soft sigh. "I told you before, Kurt. I don't have the time that I would need to put in for a solo."

A few minutes later, Clary and Simon excused themselves from the table saying they had other plans for the two of them tonight and waved goodbye to the teenage boys before heading out the front door of the establishment. After their departure, Blaine and Kurt decided to move from the four-seater table to a couple stools by the bar.

"Are you going to move back into the Institute?" Kurt asked after Maia had delivered the drinks they had ordered.

"I don't think so." Blaine shook his head slowly. "Most of the Shadowhunters don't like it when Downworlders start making themselves too comfortable at the Institute. If I move back there, I'm worried they aren't going to be happy with you coming to visit me there." He shrugged. "But Magnus doesn't mind you hanging out at the loft. I think things would be easier for us if I just stayed there."

"You're not just using _me_ as an excuse not to move back, are you?" Kurt questioned, and Blaine looked away. "I know you are worried about your parents, Blaine. They've had this hold over you ever since you came out to them. They wouldn't let you return home . . . Got you kicked out of your room at the Institute . . . Even your brother. When was the last time you spoke to him?"

Blaine shrugged. "It's been a couple weeks, but that doesn't mean anything. He doesn't feel the same way as my parents do about me being gay."

"Really?"

"Cooper was the first person I ever came out too," he explained. "He's always been supportive of me, and I know he still cares. He just has a lot going on himself. His wife is pregnant."

Kurt paused in raising his glass to his lips and looked over at his boyfriend with a smile on his face. "Is she?"

"She's just a couple months along," Blaine acknowledged. "I don't won't to stay with Magnus _just_ because of you. I've gotten really close to the warlock lately. I like being there. Besides, Alec said that no matter what I choose, he's not going to be accepting any more money from my parents. That was the part that hurt the most, the fact that Aldertree let my dad blackmail him into making me move out."

There was a short pause in the conversation where Blaine took a sip from his soda.

"So, what are the tattoos about?" Kurt asked, changing the subject. "You said before that they had something to do with your job."

Setting his glass back down on the bar, Blaine sent Kurt a small smile. "Well, first off, they're called runes . . . not tattoos." He glanced down at one of the symbols on his forearm. "Each one grants us a different . . . supernatural ability."

Kurt blinked at him. "You – You mean like superpowers?"

Blaine nodded slowly. "Yeah, kind of. When we activate one, we are able to use that ability for a few minutes." He let out a soft chuckle as the mundane raised an eyebrow at him, and the Shadowhunter reached into his pocket to pull out what looked like a silver wand from Harry Potter to Kurt and set it on the bar. "This is called a stele," Blaine explained, tapping the stick with one finger. "We use this to both create new runes on our bodies and to activate the ones we already have."

"What kinds of abilities do you have?"

Blaine pulled up the sleeve on his right arm and pointed at a symbol that had been drawn on his bicep. "This one is for strength." Lifting up his shirt slightly, he motioned to one that was shaped like the letter "C" with a tail. "That is for heightened speed." Pulling up the sleeve on his other arm, he directed Kurt's attention to one that looked like a squiggle to him that was right below Blaine's shoulder. "Healing rune," he explained, and then used both of his hands to pull down his shirt collar a little bit and tapped on the dragon shaped symbol on his collarbone. "And this one is for courage in combat."

Kurt's eyes were drawn back to the silver wand that was lying on the counter and ran his finger over the engraved patterns along its surface. "How does this thing work?"

"It burns the symbols into our skin," Blaine stated matter-of-factly, and then broke out into a laughing fit at the horrified expression on Kurt's face.

"The symbols are _burned_ into your skin?" Kurt questioned, clearly appalled by the idea.

Blaine waved his hands in front of him, still chuckling softly. "It's really not that bad," he tried to defend, but Kurt still looked shocked by the admission. "It doesn't cause any pain to activate them though once they're there."

"And how does that work?" Kurt asked, his eyes still wide from Blaine's last revelation.

The Shadowhunter scanned the people that were gathered near them inside the restaurant before calling Maia who was only a few feet away. "Are there any mundanes in here? Besides for Kurt?" he asked her, tilting his head in his boyfriend's location next to him.

Maia gave a quick look around herself before verifying with him. "No, all Shadowhunters and Downworlders," she noted before moving down the line to a customer that was waving her over.

Pulling out his seraph dagger, Blaine could feel Kurt's eyes on him and raised his head to meet his stare. "Is Maia a–"

"Maia is a werewolf. You see the claw mark on her neck?" Blaine explained, nodding towards the woman.

"A scratch? That's all it takes to become a werewolf?"

"It can." Blaine nodded and then shrugged before adding. "It doesn't always cause them to Turn though."

Going back to what he was doing, the Shadowhunter gripped his dagger in one hand and gritted his teeth as he drew the blade across the palm of his other creating a wound.

"What are you doing?!" Kurt cried out in shock as he watched blood starting to seep out of the cut the boy had made.

"Showing you how a rune works." Tossing the dagger onto the counter, Blaine rolled up his left sleeve to reveal the symbol that he had identified to Kurt just minutes ago as his Healing Rune. "Relax," he tried to sooth his boyfriend when he glanced up to see the still horrified look on his face. "I've had worse injuries then this over the years. Watch."

Picking up the stele from where it sat in front of Kurt, Blaine brought the instrument up towards the chosen rune. The tip of the wand suddenly lit up and as the Shadowhunter hovered the instrument over the symbol, roughly tracing it, the rune began to glow as well.

Drawing his eyes back down to the injury that Blaine had made in the palm of his hand, Kurt watched as the skin seemed to stitch itself back together again right in front of his eyes. With the wound now gone, Blaine wiggled his fingers in a way to show Kurt that the skin was completely mended.

"I guess they are a lot like superpowers, huh?" Blaine noted, sending his boyfriend a shy smile out of the corner of his eye before returning both his weapon and the stele back on his person.

His mind still wheeling from what he had just witnessed, Kurt reached to take another drink from his sprite.

"Hey, are you doing anything Friday night?" Kurt asked suddenly after a moment of silence. He set his now empty glass back down on the counter and turned to look at the boy that was sitting next to him.

Blaine shook his head. "Not currently. Why?"

"My dad wanted me to invite you over for dinner."

* * *

As Blaine unlocked the front door to the loft he shared with Magnus, he couldn't help the huge grin that had been painted on his face ever since he had parted ways with Kurt. A feeling of pure happiness and relief was flowing through him. A spark of hope. That's what it was. Perhaps even optimism, but it was a feeling that he hadn't had in a long time. At least not since he had come out to his family, but now . . . it truly looked like everything was going to be okay.

Kurt had been exposed to a world full of monsters and Shadowhunters, but he seemed to be taking it all in stride. Yes, it had been a bit of a rough start for the boy, but that was to be expected. And now, he no longer had to hide and keep secrets from his boyfriend . . . someone whom he could feel himself growing more and more attached to as the days went by.

Locking the door behind him, Blaine wandered into the living room of the apartment layout.

"Magnus?" he called out to his roommate but didn't receive a reply.

It was pretty dark in the apartment. Only a few lamps were switched on in the room and Blaine frowned for the first time since parting with Kurt.

The door to warlock's home office stood open to his left. Warm, bright light was streaming through there and into the living room.

"Magnus?" Blaine tried again as he drew closer to the doorway and poked his head into the room.

Inside, he spied the warlock sitting at his desk in the far corner. The man's arms were lying on the table in front of him, a slight frown on his relaxed face. His eyes were downcast and he seemed to be lost in thought. Blaine couldn't tell for sure from the distance, but something about the warlock's eyes felt sad to him . . . and this wasn't the first time he had come home to Magnus' looking like this.

Blaine knocked on the open door, which finally caught the attention of the High Warlock.

"Oh, Blaine . . . Hi," Magnus greeted him shakily. He started to shuffle through the stack of paperwork that was on his desk in a lame attempt to try and appear busy.

"Magnus . . . Are you okay?" Blaine asked, stepping into the space.

Standing up, the warlock approached a shelving unit that held some of his supplies and started to sort through some of the bottles, pulling one off before walking over to his workstation in the center of the room.

"I'm fine," the man sighed, trying to shrug off Blaine's concerns. "Just a little tired."

Leaning against the table, the Shadowhunter studied his roommate closely. "_No_, you're not," Blaine said, stressing out the first word. "I know something has been bothering you ever since you switched bodies with Valentine."

"Nothing is bothering me," Magnus tried to reassure, meeting Blaine's eyes.

Blaine stared back at the warlock, hoping he would let something slip in what was going on. As the weeks passed by, he had only grown more and more worried about his roommate . . . and he was sure Alec had to have noticed the change in him as well.

As the seconds ticked by, and Magnus still hadn't offered up any farther explanation, Blaine let out a heavy sigh in surrender.

"Look, if you don't want to talk to me about it, fine. But you should at least open up to Alec."

Something in the warlock's expression relented at Blaine's words, and he glanced down at his workstation as he slowly shook his head, leaning against the surface himself.

"I don't want to worry him with this." The words left Magnus' mouth just barely above a whisper. His tone was filled with distress, which only heightened Blaine's concern.

"You wouldn't be bothering him, Magnus," Blaine tried to reason with him. "Alec loves you. He'll want to help."

"I know, I just . . . I'm scared. I don't want to lose him."

Blaine's eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. "What makes you think you will lose him?"

Magnus lifted his head just enough to meet his eyes and the deep emotion that showed through in that one look nearly floored Blaine. He had never seen the warlock like this . . . so vulnerable.

Blaine took a deep breath, trying to get his bearings back before speaking up again. "Magnus . . . Whatever it is, it's clearly really bothering you. You can't keep going like this. You have to talk about it to someone."

The warlock averted his eyes again and let out a soft sigh before standing up straight. Shoving the little glass bottle away that he had scavenged off of his shelves in his adrenaline-stressed attempt to appear fine. It slid to a stop just a few inches away.

"I'm going to bed," the man explained, stepping around Blaine and heading out the office. "I'll see you in the morning."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Blaine could feel his hands shaking at his sides as he made his way up the stairs to the Hummel's apartment. Clutching his fingers into fists, he tried to still the fidgeting digits, which helped slightly.

He was a Shadowhunter, damn it. He had faced groups of angry Downworlders before and could take down three demons single handedly, but making plans to meet his boyfriend's father for the first time? Forget it. He was a nervous wreck.

Pausing for a moment outside of the door that he knew led into the apartment that Kurt shared with his father, Blaine pulled out his stele and activated his courage rune on his collarbone and instantly felt most of his fear drift away. He could still feel a tightness in his heart though, but he couldn't determine for sure what was causing it. There was nothing he could do about it now anyways.

Stashing his stele back in his pocket, Blaine let out a breath to help calm any lingering jitters before knocking three times on the door that stood in front of him.

"I'll get it!" he heard Kurt's slightly muffled cry from inside, causing the side of Blaine's lip to perk up in a smirk. Seconds later, the door flew up to reveal the brightly smiling mundane. "Hi."

"Hey, I–" Blaine started, but his words got cut off as he was suddenly jerked into the foyer and a soft chuckle spilled from his lips as he felt Kurt's arms snake around his shoulders, pulling him close. "Don't tell me you missed me already," he mumbled into the boy's shoulder. "We just spent hours this morning together rehearsing for Regionals."

"We were working," Kurt stated in exasperation as he pulled out of the hug, keeping his hands resting on Blaine's upper arms. "That's not the same as being with you one-on-one."

Blaine's grin grew and he lowered his voice to make sure he was not overheard by whoever he could hear moving around in the kitchen. "One-on-one? Isn't your father here right now?"

"You must be Blaine?"

The two boys look up to find an older man in a baseball cup coming around the corner.

"Yeah," Kurt chirped. "This is my boyfriend, Blaine. Blaine, this is my dad."

Blaine extended his hand out in greeting. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Hummel."

"Please, you can call me Burt," the man said letting go of the hand the Shadowhunter had offered.

"Burt?" Blaine asked turning back to his boyfriend to give him a questioning look and raised an eyebrow. "Burt and Kurt?"

"My mother's name was Katherine," Kurt noted with a small shrug. "With a 'K'."

Blaine's eyes swiveled from the father figure standing before him to his boyfriend and back again. "It's a _ship_ name?"

The man chuckled softly at Blaine's reaction and placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "We wanted something special. A name that would really mean something to the two of us."

Blaine couldn't help the ache that pulled at his heart at seeing the look in Burt's eyes as he stared down at his son. This man's eyes shone with love towards Kurt. As he studied the man's posture and demeanor, the way he spoke and the clear look of acceptance in his eyes . . . Blaine couldn't find a trace of prejudice in Burt over his son being gay. Why couldn't his own father look at him like that?

"Come on in, Blaine. Dinner is almost ready," Burt stated, turning to head back down the hallway. "You boys could help set the table."

* * *

"So, where are you going to school, Blaine?" Burt asked as he spooned some mashed potatoes onto his plate.

"I've been home-schooled since I was a kid," Blaine replied, cutting up his chicken. "And I've got a job working with my cousins."

"That sounds nice. What kind of work do you do?"

"It's a rehabilitation job," Blaine stated, deciding to stick with his original explanation that he had first giving Kurt. Easier to keep the lies together that way . . . "We help people get back on their feet after some kind of accident or trauma."

"What about your parents?" Burt scooped some food onto his fork and started to lift it towards his mouth. "Do they do the same kind of work?"

Blaine nodded slowly, keeping his eyes diverted. He could feel Kurt's eyes on him, knowing that this was a difficult subject for him. "Yeah, they have a similar business set up in Ohio."

"Ohio?" Blaine could hear Burt's voice grow a pitch higher at the news. "Why did you move out here then?"

"_Dad_." Kurt sent his father a warning look, but Blaine shook his head.

"It's fine, Kurt," he soothed his boyfriend before locking eyes with the boy's father across the table. "My parents refused to have me living under their roof if I was going to be gay. They kicked me out of the house, but my cousins offered to take me in."

Burt sent him a small smile. "So, they're more accepting?"

Blaine nodded grinning back. "One of my cousins is gay too. His family has been a lot more accepting about everything. Honestly, I don't think I would have been nearly as happy as I am now if I had stayed with my parents."

"One of your cousins is gay?" Kurt perked up at the news.

"Yeah," Blaine nodded. "My cousin, Alec? He's dating Magnus."

"Alec is dating a war– He's dating Magnus?" Kurt asked, sounding excited for Blaine's cousin.

Blaine scrunched his eyebrows at his boyfriend in acknowledgement of his almost slip up in front of his father, but his attention was drawn away from the boy when a low hum sounded. Glancing down at his arm that was resting on the table, Blaine found the small, dark red rubies of his wristwatch pulsing and glowing with each other. Quickly sliding his hand under the table, Blaine turned back to his boyfriend to find he too had noticed it going off and the mundane slowly lowered his fork back down to lie on his plate.

"Everything okay, kid?" Burt asked from across the table. The man's gaze was lingering on the edge of the table where Blaine's arm had once been.

"Yeah . . . Yeah, of course," the young Shadowhunter stuttered, his brain racking for an excuse to leave the table for a few minutes. "C–can I use your restroom?"

Kurt suddenly leaped up from the seat next to him. "Sure, I'll show you where it is," he exclaimed and practically dragged Blaine out of his chair and around the corner. "What? Is there a demon in our house now?" Kurt asked, lowering his voice as they made their way farther down the hallway.

Blaine gently pulled his arm out of his boyfriend's iron fisted grip and shook his head. "I doubt it," he groaned, mimicking Kurt's lowered tone. "It's probably on the roof . . . or crawling up the side of the building." He spun around to face the mundane as they neared the front door. "I'll just take a quick look around the premises; see if I can find it. If I can't, I'll contact Izzy to come and do a more thorough search. Just . . . keep the door unlocked for me? It would be easier to keep your dad clueless if I don't have to knock to be let back in again."

Kurt quickly nodded his head. "Of course, but what are you going to do if you find it? You don't have any of your weapons on you."

Blaine smirked at the chestnut-haired boy before stealing a glance back down the hallway to verify that Burt wasn't approaching. "First rule about being a Shadowhunter . . ." he explained, grabbing his hidden fighter's staff from his side and gave the pole a spin in the palm of his hand to trigger the blades to pop out of each end, "always be prepared."

Kurt stared, astonished, at the sudden appearance of the weapon. "What . . . How . . . ?"

Changing his grip slightly, Blaine allowed the blades to retract temporally back inside the staff. Blaine shrugged. "It's called a glamour. We use it to hide the fact that we are carrying weapons while we walk among mundanes. We can also glamour ourselves when we go out for missions."

* * *

Slipping out of his boyfriend's apartment, Blaine headed straight for the staircase, deciding to head for the roof first. From that perspective, he should be able to quickly check the whole perimeter of the building for the demon.

Reaching the top of the stairs, Blaine cautiously opened the door and peeked out, cringing as the hinges squealed from their lack of use. Not seeing the creature on the landing, the young Shadowhunter forced the door open just enough for him to squeeze through before quickly closing the noisy barrier behind him.

Walking towards the low wall that surrounded the rooftop, he glanced down at the sheer drop below him and scanned the brick wall for the dark monster. Not seeing anything, Blaine turned to check another side but froze when he heard scraping coming from somewhere behind him, accompanied by a gargling sound.

Slowly spinning around, the teenager located the source of the noise; a dark form was perched in an animal's hunting crouch on top of the door Blaine had just exited from. Long fingernails; like claws, extended out of the creature's human shaped black hands and were scratching against the shingles that were underneath him. The strange gargling noises continued as the demon rotated his head into an unnatural angle until Blaine was sure the thing was watching him.

Not taking his eyes off of the demon, Blaine twirled his staff around in his hand and heard the blades popping out once again before getting into a fighting stance. Shifting his feet a little, he waited patiently for the form to make the first move.

Before the beast could attack though, the door flew open below the dark creature and a pale boy with chestnut hair charged through and onto to the roof.

"Blaine, did you–"

"Get back!"

The demon let out a deep-throated screech before leaping off of its vantage point. The teen spun around just in time to see the black monster dropping on top of him and the boy was knocked onto his back.

"Kurt!" Blaine cried out in fear.

Unglamouring his seraph dagger, Blaine flicked his wrist and sent the weapon flying towards the demon, plunging deep into the creature's forehead. The dark form gave a last jerk before collapsing onto the body beneath him.

"Kurt!" The young Shadowhunter darted across the roof. Shoving the black form off of his boyfriend, Blaine kneeled over him. "Kurt? Are you okay?"

Giving the boy a quick look over, he found a large rip in the kid's shirt. Blood was already staining his clothes.

"Kurt?" Blaine tried again to get him to respond but the boy's eyes were starting to close. He let out a small moan, but nothing more.

* * *

Alec had just entered Magnus' loft to find the warlock standing next to his bar cart. He appeared to have been in the middle of preparing himself a drink, but was now frozen in place with a cocktail shaker gripped tightly in one hand.

"Magnus?" Alec called to him and watched as his boyfriend's attention drifted back.

"Oh, Alexander," the warlock greeted doing a fairly good job of acting like everything was okay, but Alec wasn't falling for it anymore. "I was just about to make myself a drink. Do you want one?"

"No." Alec shook his head and Magnus went back to fixing his own. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong," the warlock said, sounding calm.

"Magnus . . ." Alec moaned in frustration and took a step closer to the Downworlder. "I love you, and I can tell something has been bothering you for a while now. Whatever it is, I'm here for you."

"I appreciate it, but I'm fine."

"No, you're not," the Shadowhunter insisted. "I'm sorry, but I'm not going to leave until you talk to me. You shouldn't be pushing away the people that care about you when you are clearly hurting."

Magnus looked back up at his words. After a moment of silence, he placed his glass back down on the cart.

"When I was tortured in Valentine's body . . . that agony rune . . . It made me relive my worst memory. And now . . . I can't get it out of my head." Turning away from Alec, Magnus made his way over to the couch and took a seat.

Sensing that Magnus needed him close right now, Alec kneeled down right in front of him. "What is it?" he asked quietly. He could already see the warlock's eyes getting wet as he started to explain.

"I was nine years old when my mother found out what my cat eyes meant. She couldn't live with the fact that she had borne the son of a demon . . . so she took her life. I was the first one to find her."

"Magnus . . ."

"My stepfather found me shortly after," he quickly continued. "He screamed at me. He called me an abomination."

"What?" Alec's voice came out barely above a whisper, but Magnus heard it none-the-less and huffed.

"He was right," the warlock insisted. By now, the tears were starting to run down his face. "He blamed me for her suicide. He said that she hated herself for giving birth to a monster . . . So I lashed out. With all the magic I had . . . I burned him, Alexander . . . I murdered my stepfather."

Alec hated seeing his boyfriend like this. So broken. "You were just a boy," he said, trying to comfort him in some way. "You weren't in control of your powers."

But Magnus shook his head slowly. "No . . . Actually, I was." He paused for a moment, waiting for Alec to say something. When he didn't, he wiped a couple of his tears away. "I'm sorry . . . I never wanted you to see this . . . terrible, ugly side of me, of my past . . ."

"Hey," Alec spoke up softly.

Magnus had been looking off to the side as he talked, not being able to make eye contact with Alec as he discussed what he had done for fear of finding disappointment and ridicule on his boyfriend's face, but at hearing the caring tone in the man's voice Magnus slowly turned to lock eyes with him to find; to his surprise, only love and concern on his face.

Magnus couldn't help but flinch slightly as the Shadowhunter reached a hand up to cup the side of his face and he stared back at Alec with fearful eyes, terrified that this man wasn't going to want anything to do with him anymore after learning about what he had done.

Looking deeply into Magnus' eyes, Alec gently used his thumb to wipe away a few of the warlock's tears that were still pouring down his cheeks. "There is nothing ugly about you," Alec stated firmly in what he hoped sounded like a genuine and loving voice. To his relief, he saw the fear of rejection leaving the Downworlder's eyes and he pulled the man in for a hug.

The sound of the front door being shoved open drew the couple away from their bonding moment to find Blaine stumbling inside with a teenage boy gripped tightly in his arms. Seeing the pale skin and chestnut hair, Alec and Magnus quickly jumped to their feet and Alec rushed over to take the wounded boy from Blaine's arms.

"What happened?" Alec asked in a panicked tone at seeing the bloody shirt that was clinging to Kurt's body as Magnus gestured for them to place the injured teen on the other couch that was in the room.

"D–demon attack," Blaine sputtered out as he tried to get his breath back from his dash to the loft to find help. "He was scratched. I–"

Magnus snapped his fingers and instantly Kurt's red stained shirt was gone to finally reveal the hideous wound underneath. Three long, angry looking claw marks ran diagonally across his upper chest. Black, vein-like streaks were already beginning to branch outwards from the open wounds.

"What is that?" Blaine questioned, terror growing in his voice. Magnus rushed off towards his apothecary office only to return seconds later with a bowl and his arms full of various ingredients, which he quickly laid on the coffee table that was close by. "Magnus, what is it? Is Kurt going to be okay?"

"He's been infected with demon venom," Magnus stated with determination as he sorted through the items he had retrieved. "It's spreading fast. He doesn't have much time."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

With practiced skill, Magnus throws the ingredients into his brass bowl and stirs them together. As the warlock worked at preparing the potion, Blaine focused his attention on the unconscious boy that was lying in front of him. The angry, black marks that were branching out around Kurt's chest seemed to be slowly growing before his eyes.

"What's happening?" Blaine asked as he watched it spread. "Is he going to be okay?"

"As long as we can prevent the venom from reaching his heart, he should be fine," Magnus explained, not looking up from his work.

A few more powders were dumped into the bowl before the warlock paused to snap and wave a hand over the concoction he had created, blue sparks left his fingertips and a swooshing sound followed the movement.

Magnus quickly peeled his rings off of his fingers before picking up the bowl and dropping on to his knees in front of the couch. Reaching into the bowl, he scooped some of the goopy substance into his hand and started to spread it over the ugly wound on Kurt's chest. As the substance made contact with the demon's mark, the goop gave off a ghostly glow.

"Alexander, can you grab the medical wraps and dressing from the bathroom? They should be in the bottom left side drawer," Magnus noted as he worked on the boy. Without a word, Alec jumped to his feet and ran off to get what his boyfriend had asked for.

"What about his father?" Blaine suddenly realized as Magnus was finishing up his task. "What are we going to tell him? I don't think he even knows that Kurt followed me out of his apartment."

* * *

Alec knocked three times on the door before taking a step back to wait. Looking back down the empty hallway he had just came down, he let out a tired sigh before hearing the door open and he quickly turned back to lock eyes with an older man wearing a brown baseball hat. An anxious look was in the mundane's eyes.

"Burt?"

The man blinked at him in surprise and scanned him up and down. "Yes?"

"I'm Alec Lightwood; Blaine's cousin. He's dating your son?"

Burt's eyes lit up at the information. "Kurt? Yes, do you know where he is? He and Blaine were both here just a little over an hour ago, but they have both disappeared. I've been trying to call Kurt but he won't answer his phone–"

"That's actually why I'm here," Alec interrupted the worried parent. "Kurt has been injured . . . Attacked–"

"What?! What happened? Is he okay?"

"He appears to have been attacked by a dog," Alec said, explaining the cover story him and Magnus had decided on. "He has a pretty serious scratch on his chest. Blaine brought Kurt to my boyfriend's apartment about an hour ago looking for help–"

"Your boyfriend's? If Kurt is hurt, he should be in a hospital."

"My boyfriend takes clients all the time. He heals people. Trust me, your son is in good hands with him," Alec said, trying to reassure the older man.

"Where is he?" Burt asked, his voice getting steadily higher. "Where is my son?"

Alec shifted his feet. "Look, if you let me in, I can leave the address of where he is with you, but it's getting late and Kurt is resting right now. You should probably wait until morning before going to see him."

"Wait until morning?" Burt stared back at him like he had grown a second head. "He is my son! You can't keep him from me."

"Hey, that is not what we are doing. We are trying to help," Alec calmly stated. "Magnus, my boyfriend, needs room to be able to work and help your son tonight. By morning, things should calm down enough at his apartment for you to come and see him." Burt sent the Shadowhunter an accusing look so he added, "I can leave you with Magnus' number as well as his address. That way you can call him to find out how Kurt is doing."

Burt sent him one last annoyed look before stepping aside to allow Alec into the apartment.

* * *

"I should be here when his father shows up," Blaine insisted as Magnus tried to shoo him out the door the next morning. "I witnessed the attack, and then just left with him without telling Burt where I was taking his son. I need to talk to him, and explain the situation–"

"You need to get to work," Magnus said, blocking the teen's attempts to step around him to approach the couch that Kurt was still lying passed out on. "I'm sure Burt appreciates the fact that you were there to help his son and to get him the proper care he needed."

Blaine paused in his attempt to dodge past the warlock and glanced around him at the still body that was lying in the living room. If it weren't for the steady rise and fall of the boy's chest, Blaine wouldn't have been able to tell the kid was still breathing.

The young Shadowhunter sighed in defeat. "Will you at least call me if anything changes? If he wakes up–"

"You will be the first person I notify."

* * *

"I've sent a request for us to move Valentine to the Gard in Idris. The Clave has approved of the transfer," Alec informed his gathered sister, parabatai, and cousin.

Izzy narrowed her eyes. "Why the transfer? Has something happened?"

Alec sighed. "Magnus has been acting depressed ever since he was switched with him a couple weeks ago. Being tortured by that agony rune has really affected him emotionally."

"Is Magnus okay?" Jace asked, his voice filled with concern.

Alec nodded slowly. "I'm going to be keeping an eye on him. Make sure he's doing okay but, in the meantime, I would prefer if Valentine were as far away as possible. Also, by moving him out of the city, it should help us completely restore our relations with the Downworld."

"Sounds like the right call," Blaine confirmed.

"Great." Alec sent the teen a small smile. "Izzy, you'll be leading the transfer mission. Jace, you will assist."

"Sure," Izzy said, nodding in agreement. "Um . . . Who are you going to get to create the portal to transfer Valentine?"

Alec hesitated for a moment. "I was thinking I would ask Magnus to do it."

"Really?" Blaine asked. "After everything you just said about wanting Valentine as far away from him as possible?"

"I think assisting with the transfer might help Magnus, actually," Alec defended. "Playing a part in sending the man that helped to hurt him to Alicante . . . Verifying were he will end up . . . I think it would create some closure for him."

"Alright," Izzy agreed before addressing Jace. "We will need to remove Valentine's Circle Rune. The new wards in Idris won't let him pass with it on. Would you like to do the honors?"

Jace smiled. "Thought you'd never ask."

* * *

Magnus laid the palm of his hand against the mundane's forehead and frowned at the clammy texture that met his skin.

Kurt's father, Burt, had stopped by not long after Blaine had left to check on his son. Seeing the boy's heavily bandaged chest, the man was rightfully furious and wanted to take his son to a hospital to get 'properly' looked after. Magnus had done his best to reassure the frightened parent that he was completely capable of dealing with the injury himself and that all Kurt needed now was to sleep, and with some convincing, Burt finally relented to letting the warlock care for him.

The boy had seemed a little warm when Burt had eventually left to head off to work, but as the morning started to drift into the afternoon the fever only appeared to be getting worse. A few clumps of wet hair were beginning to cling to the teen's forehead from perspiring.

With a wave of his hand, blue sparks shot out of the warlock's fingers to attempt and cool the boy down a little. Relieved when the fever came down a few degrees, Magnus retrieved the half empty cups of coffee that had been left on the side table from when the mundane had come to check on Kurt.

He had just turned the corner into the kitchen when a cry sounded from the other room. Dropping the mugs, the china shattered on the tiled floor. Leaving the destroyed cups to clean up latter, Magnus dashed back into the living room to find the injured teenager now thrashing around on the couch. His hands were clawing at the bandages that were wrapped around his injury.

Magnus slid to his knees in front of the boy and gently pried the boy's hands away from the dressings. "Kurt? Kurt, can you hear me?"

"It hurts," the boy cried, drawing out the second word in a moan.

"Okay . . . Okay, just try and hold still," Magnus advised and got to his feet so he was standing over the boy.

Spreading his feet apart for balance, Magnus raised his hands over Kurt and rotated his wrists as he hovered them up and down the boy's chest and abdomen. Instead of sparks, a blue mist floated out of warlock's hands and floated down onto the body. Kurt let out a groan as he continued to twitch uncomfortably.

"How is that?" Magnus asked, not letting up on the treatment. "Is it helping?"

Kurt seemed to be about to nod his head when his eyes suddenly snapped open and he let out another cry in agony.

* * *

Kurt felt the darkness starting to slip away. He tried to fight it. Burning spasms were racking up and down his chest, and the closer he came to consciousness, the sharper the pain seemed to become. He just wanted to remain asleep. Let whatever was causing the intense fire under his skin stay a dull ache for as long as possible, but his body had other ideas.

By now the pain was searing through his chest like a branding iron making it impossible to drift back into the darkness. The burning grew – rose and peaked and rose again until it surpassed anything he'd ever felt before.

He could feel the pulse behind the fire raging in his chest. He wanted to raise his hands and claw his chest open, get rid of whatever it was that was causing this torture but he couldn't feel his arms.

He must have screamed out at some point because someone was suddenly there kneeling over him. Whoever it was rested their hands gently over his that apparently had been scratching at his chest like he had imagined.

"Kurt?" A voice drifted through the agony that was coursing through the nerves in his brain. "Kurt, can you hear me?"

He recognized the voice but he couldn't place it through the scalding heat that was growing inside his body. It wasn't Blaine. He could tell that much. Where was Blaine?

He opened his eyes to try and determine who it was next to him, but his vision was hazy. He couldn't make anything out of the man's face.

"It hurts," Kurt cried, hoping whoever it was would be able to make the boiling pain go away.

"Okay," the voice spoke up again and Kurt sensed the man moving to stand up. "Okay, just try and hold still."

Kurt squeezed his eyes shut and clutched his fists against the pain, his nails digging into his flesh. After a moment, a tingling sensation ran over his exposed skin. It was like a cool breeze was blowing straight onto his chest but the air wasn't stopping on the surface. His skin was absorbing the icy chill, filling up his body and blanketing the burning fire that had been scalding him just seconds ago. He couldn't help but let out a low groan as his body continued to twitch from the sudden change in temperature.

"How is that?" The calming voice returned from somewhere above him. "Is it helping?"

Kurt was about to nod his head in relief when a new feeling danced across his upper chest. Something hot was raking down his upper chest, cutting him like a knife, and he let out another cry in pain.

The cool breeze stopped abruptly, and the bandages that had been wrapped around him were suddenly gone. Whoever was doctoring him let in a sharp intake of breath before dropping to his knees in front of the couch. The man spread his hands out on Kurt's now bare chest, which was followed by a heavier wave of magic entering him.

Slowly opening his eyes again, Kurt blinked up at the man that was hovering over him. His vision was still blurry and he couldn't make out must of the man's features, but through the haze he did notice that his hair was brushed up from the sides of his head and pulled into a short mohawk on his scalp . . . and his eyes . . .

Kurt squeezed his eyelids shut before opening them again to stare at the blurry figure beside him, but nothing had changed. Through the foggy shapes . . . yellow eyes were peering intensely down at him.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Blaine raced up the stairs of Magnus' apartment building and hurried down the hallway before shoving the door out of his way. He stumbled in his haste to get inside, but quickly caught himself and pushed the door closed behind him without turning back.

"Kurt!" he exclaimed in excitement, seeing his boyfriend sitting up on the couch. The boy was slouching slightly against the pillow that was propped up behind him to make him more comfortable. "How are you feeling? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he insisted, but couldn't help the soft groan that left his lips as he struggled to sit up straighter. He waved off Blaine's attempts to help him. "What are you doing here anyways? Shouldn't you be hunting demons or something?" Kurt asked with a small smirk, obviously trying to lighten the mood.

Taking a seat on the furniture by Kurt's legs, Blaine's lip perked up at hearing his boyfriend's sarcasm returning and a surge a relief rushed through him.

"Magnus called me, told me you were awake." He rested a hand over where Kurt's knee was under the blanket that was covering his lower half and rubbed his thumb back-and-forth. Shrugging, Blaine continued, "I needed to see for myself how you were doing. You had me scared to death there, Kurt . . . Seeing that demon pounce on top of you–"

"I know. I'm sorry," Kurt jumped in, interrupting Blaine's rant. The mundane shook his head slowly. "I don't know what I was thinking, following you up to the roof. I should have just waited in the apartment." His eyes lowered to his lap. "You would think I would have learned my lesson after following you into that alley and being jumped by that vampire."

"That is why mundanes are usually kept in the dark about this stuff." Blaine turned towards the sound of the voice to find Magnus strolling out of his office and over towards the couple. "The Downworld can be a dangerous place if you're not prepared for it. Learning quickly would be wise."

Kurt nodded slowly in agreement, his eyes never leaving the warlock as Magnus set down a small glass jar with pale yellow liquid on the side table behind him. A tiny cork was pressed inside the mouth of the bottle as a cap.

"Alec is going to need you at the Institute soon, Magnus," Blaine warned, deciding to ignore the anxious look in his boyfriend's eyes for the moment and pulled his worried gaze away from Kurt to give the warlock his full attention. "He's arranging the transfer of one of their prisoners to Idris. He's going to need you to create the portal for them."

"Sure." Magnus nodded in understanding. "And who is it that Alexander wishes to transfer?"

" . . . Valentine," Blaine sighed after a moment of hesitation, surrounding the prisoner's name. He was going to find out soon anyways.

The amusement in the warlock's eyes disappeared as his expression morphed into one of apprehension.

* * *

"Who's Valentine?" Kurt asked as the portal Magnus had just stepped through disappeared.

Blaine shifted into a more comfortable position on the couch. "The Institute had been after him for awhile. He _hates _Downworlders," he emphasized. "He wanted to find away to banish all of them . . . Kill them."

Kurt furrowed his eyebrows in thought. "Why?" he asked slowly, dragging out the word. "I mean, I haven't known about this world for long, but the few Downworlders I _have_ met . . . They seem okay. Not like the monsters I would have pictured them as being."

Blaine just shrugged his shoulders, hoping his boyfriend wouldn't push the subject anymore. The last thing he wanted to talk about right now was Valentine's history.

"Do all warlocks have demon eyes?" Kurt asked suddenly, breaking the silence that had settled over the room.

Blaine stared at the boy through narrowed eyes. "Excuse me?"

The mundane averted his eyes, his cheeks taking on a pink tint. "I don't think he knows I saw them, but when Magnus was healing me . . . his eyes changed. They turned yellow."

"Oh," he exclaimed, scooting back to use the armrest as a back brace. "It was probably his warlock mark."

Kurt blinked in confusion. "Warlock mark?"

The Shadowhunter nodded. "All warlock's have at least one mark. Some distinct or strange physical feature that identifies them."

"Really?"

Blaine nodded. "The most common ones resemble parts of animals; horns, scales, webbed hands. I've even seen a few with different skin colors; green and blue. Most warlock's choose to hide their marks with glamours."

"So, Magnus' mark is . . . yellow eyes?"

Blaine smirked at the boy sitting across from him. "They are probably cat eyes . . . I think that's what Alec said. Although, I've never seen them for myself."

* * *

A week had past since Kurt had woken up after his attack. He had returned back to his own apartment and was slowly gaining his strength back.

Blaine was walking down the hallway of the New York Institute when his phone pinged from his pocket. Fishing it out, he couldn't help the grin that crossed his face as he read over the text message from his boyfriend.

Without looking up from the device, the young Shadowhunter blindly knocked on the closed office door in front of him and waited until he heard the soft reply from the other side before letting himself in.

Alec Lightwood was sitting behind his desk, frowning at a piece of paper that was in his hands. He glanced up long enough to identify his cousin as the intruder, before turning back to what he was reading.

"Blaine," Alec greeted shortly. "How is Kurt doing?"

"A lot better," Blaine noted. "I visited him at his apartment this morning before coming in to work. Those ugly black marks that had covered his chest after the demon attacked him are starting to fade."

Alec nodded his head once to show he was listening. "That's good news."

Blaine frowned and slipped his phone back into his pocket as he approached the massive desk that sat in the room. "Is something wrong?" he asked, folding his arms across his chest.

A huge sigh left the man's lips and he leaned back in his chair as he placed the piece of paper down. "I just received a notice from the Inquisitor. Valentine escaped from his cell in Idris a couple days ago."

Blaine stiffened at the news. "H-he's gone?" The question came out just above a whisper. When Alec didn't respond, Blaine's jaw clenched. "How? I thought it was impossible to escape from their jail cells."

Alec leaned forward again and tapped the piece of paper that was lying in front of him on his desk with his fingers. "After their investigations of the incident, they believe Valentine must have had some help."

"Like, from other Circle members?" The look in Alec's eyes was all Blaine needed to know his suspicions were accurate. Shaking his head, the young Shadowhunter continued, "But what about their Circle Runes? I thought the new wards in Idris wouldn't let them pass with them on."

Alec shrugged. "We had to remove Valentine's rune to get him in. If they thought that was what they had to do to free their leader . . ."

Blaine bit his lower lip gentle in thought. "So . . . What do we do now? Should we warn the Downworlders?"

Alec let out another sigh, his desk chair groaned in protest as he leaned back again. "No . . . Not yet, anyways. I mean, we still don't know where the Soul Sword or the Mortal Cup is, and now with Valentine's escape . . . We don't want to create panic amongst the Downworlders. The last thing we need right now is an uprising."

Blaine frowned. "Even from Magnus?"

"Especially from Magnus," Alec snapped, and Blaine flinched back in surprise at his cousin's hostility. "He has just started to act like himself again," he continued, lowering his voice. "The last thing Magnus needs right now is to know that the man that helped to cause him so much pain is currently free again."

A soft knock came from the door that Blaine had left ajar.

"Am I interrupting something?" Magnus asked with a raised eyebrow from the doorway, sensing the sudden tension that washed over the room at his appearance.

"No. No, of course not," Alec replied after an awkward pause. The warlock sent him a confused look which Alec did his best to ignore.

Taking this as his cue to leave, Blaine said a quick goodbye to his cousin before squeezing past his roommate to head back to their shared loft for the night, leaving the boyfriends alone in the office.

Sensing Magnus' eyes still on him, Alec did his best to ignore the intense stare of his boyfriend as he folded up the newsletter from the Clave and stuffed it back into the white envelope that it had come in.

"Lost track of time?" Magnus asked suddenly. A hint of amusement was in his voice, letting Alec know that the Downworlder was letting the awkward moment pass without questioning it.

The Shadowhunter sighed as he realized why the warlock had shown up at the Institute. "I missed dinner, didn't I?"

"Only by a few hours," Magnus noted with a small shrug. A smirk was playing on his face as he studied Alec, so he knew the warlock wasn't mad about being stood up.

Guilt spinning in his gut, Alec stuffed the letter into the top draw of his desk to worry about later and stood to walk over to Magnus. "I'm – I'm so sorry. Really," he stuttered out before leaning forward to give the man a quick kiss. "It's just . . . it's been so crazy here and–"

Magnus gave a short shake of his head. "I understand."

"I can't believe I forgot," Alec groaned, and Magnus rested a hand gently on his shoulder in comfort.

"It's okay, Alexander," the warlock insisted. "If we can't go to the Cape, I'll just have to bring the Cape to us."

With a snap of the Downworlder's fingers, a rush of air blew through the office before a fancy dinner table magically appeared in front of them; decked out with expensive food, a couple wine glasses, and a burning candle. Romantic music had even started to play from somewhere, which Alec decided not to ask about.

"Lobster tails and champagne," Magnus explained, stepping up to the table to retrieve the two glasses and handed one to Alec as he joined him, "to toast to a successful Downworld meeting."

The couple clanked their glasses together before each taking a sip of the alcohol.

"So, it went well?"

"Relatively," Magnus admitted, taking a seat at the table. Pulling out his own chair, Alec followed suit. "But, as you know, the Downworlders barely trust the Clave to begin with. And the Seelie Queen was going on and on about how the Clave is nothing but a bunch of liars."

"That's harsh," Alec forced the words out of his mouth as he scanned the arrangement of food that sat before him and tried to swallow down the guilty lump that was now settling in his stomach.

"Yes, well, Luke and I assured them that now that _you_ are the Head of this Institute; and are implementing a policy of _complete_ transparency, change was on the way."


End file.
